Acting on Impulse
by Marishna
Summary: Buffy is about to star in her first major motion picture! Then she meets her co-star with a wild-boy reputation and there is instant dislike between the two stars. COMPLETED DEC 2004
1. Plane Ticket to Stardom

Title: Acting on Impulse  
  
Author: Marishna Abforth  
  
Rating: I am going to say PG-13 over-all, perhaps R later but I've never written anything of the smut nature, so I don't know how R-rated it'll get.  
Disclaimer: I own it all. except for the stuff that I don't own. which is all of it.  
  
Summary: Total AU. Buffy is about to star in her first major motion picture! Then she meets her co-star with a wild-boy reputation and there is instant dislike between the two stars. Can Buffy and Spike set aside their differences long enough to make Buffy a star and have a little office romance?  
  
Can anyone tell me how to format these things so they aren't SO close together (the lines)? It's quite annoying to upload 6 times to get it right.. Blarg!  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!!  
  
~*~*~*~* Part 1: Plane Ticket to Stardom ~*~*~*~*  
"We're not going to crash. We're not going to crash." Buffy Summers chanted this mantra over and over in her head as the plane rocked to the left just a little. She hated flying.  
  
"Ma'am? Are you alright?" A stewardess stopped by her seat, seeing Buffy's clenched hands on the seat.  
  
"Can I get a rum and coke?" Buffy asked, hoping the alcohol would take the edge off her fear.  
  
"I'm sorry but we don't serve alcohol this close to the end of the flight." The stewardess smiled and moved on. Buffy closed her eyes as the plane pitched again slightly.  
  
"OK. I just have to say something." Buffy turned to her left to look at her seatmate. He was a grinning twenty something that looked completely oblivious to her discomfort. He wasn't horribly bad looking but he was beefier and taller than she liked her men to be, not that she wanted to get involved with some random guy from a flight, but it never hurt to look.  
  
"And that is?" She asked, trying to be nice. The guy had been quiet through the whole flight thus far.  
  
"I LOVED you on 'Demon Hunter'." He gushed.  
  
"Thanks, glad to know you watched." Buffy's stomach took a nosedive in reaction to the shifting plane again.  
  
"Do you think the show will be coming back on-air?" The man asked.  
  
"No." Buffy silently cursed whoever put her on this plane, and then sighed. She knew why she was on this plane, it was all for her career. She flashed back to the moment that got her on this plane.  
* * * * *  
  
***There was ringing, but where was it coming from? Buffy thought hard to try to figure out what that God forsaken noise was. Has she fallen asleep in class again? No, that wasn't it. The ringing kept going. Could it be the bell on set to clear the stage? No, she didn't have a job right now, and why would she be sleeping on set?  
  
She rolled over and realized it was the phone ringing. She groped for the handset of her portable, not able to see properly because she had a sleep mask on. She flopped back on the pillows and answered.  
  
"This had better be the King of freaking Blissdonia to be calling me this early." She muttered into the phone.  
  
"Buffy, it's almost eleven in the morning." The voice chirped back at her, being a perky little snot.  
  
"Willow?" Buffy pushed her sleep mask off and squinted at the bright sunlight streaming into her room.  
  
"Buffy everyone else in the world is up right now, rise and shine pumpkin." Buffy knew that she would have to strangle her best friend at some point in her life, she just didn't know that it would be over how perky she was in the morning.  
  
"Yeah, well not everyone in the world was up until 4 a.m. getting Vulcan ears glued to their head, were they?"  
  
"Four in the morning? Good god. You finished shooting though, right?" Willow Rosenburg was not only Buffy's best friend but also her manager. Willow had taken a public relations course in university, along with business and had agreed to help Buffy out while she started her acting career. So far she hadn't done too bad a job and she had managed to take on a couple other people as clients.  
  
"Yeah, signed, sealed and delivered. or filmed, printed and aired. almost. What's up with the early morning shout-out anyway?" Buffy climbed out of bed and stretched before making her way through her small apartment to the kitchen. She started the teakettle boiling for some instant coffee, not up to the task of using the percolator.  
  
"Got some pretty cool news this morning. I think you may want to name your first born after me."  
  
"Well dish, girl! And no offense to you Will, but I don't think I am naming my kids, should I ever inflict the terror of my offspring on the world, after flora or fauna."  
  
"Well, I tried anyway. Are you sitting?" Willow grew more excited the more she teased.  
  
"Just spill already!" Buffy screamed.  
  
"Ok, remember that part you tried out for about three months ago? The movie about the thief who falls in love with her hostage/partner in crime?"  
  
"Yeah, damn part went to Julia Stiles. Bitch."  
  
"Not quite. She didn't work out for the part, so the studio called me this morning and offered you the part cause you were neck and neck with her for the role! How much do you love me?" Willow shrieked into the phone. She didn't hear anything from the other end of the phone.  
  
"Buffy?" She heard a crash on the other end of the phone being dropped and hysterical screaming in the distance.  
  
"Omigod! Omigod! Omigod!" Buffy jumped up and down in her kitchen, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Willow!" She picked the phone back up and yelled.  
  
"What did I tell you? Unborn child naming worthy, eh?" br br  
  
"You can name it Rumplestitlskin for all I care. I love you SO much!! You are THE best!"  
  
"This could be your big break, Buffy. This could launch you into the stratosphere!" Willow screeched.  
  
"I can't believe it!! This is AMAZING! I thought that my career was dead after 'Demon Hunter' got cancelled. I thought that I couldn't act." Buffy sat on a stool in her kitchen and bit her lip. She had done it.  
  
"Too bad 'Demon Hunter' was too much like that other demon show with the female lead. God forbid we have too many strong female characters in show business." Willow said bitterly. Buffy had to laugh. Since her best friend had declared she was gay she had been a walking crusade to get better-portrayed females on TV. Buffy knew why 'Demon Hunter' got cancelled, and it wasn't just because television executives were afraid of strong females. it was because the show sucked- bad.  
  
"Well it doesn't matter now, does it? Cause I'm going to Hollywood!" Buffy shrieked again, jumping slightly on her stool. She motion caused her perch to wobble and tip over with her still on it. She hit the floor with a loud thud on her back.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow yelled. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Will? What kind of medical coverage does the studio have for klutziness?" She asked, laughing as she stood up. ***  
  
* * * * *  
  
And so here she was, on a plane to Los Angeles where she would be starring in her first big motion picture. She had had a few other smaller parts that didn't require many lines or acknowledgements of her talent so this part had indeed come out of the blue. This was her big chance to prove to the world that Buffy Summers was an asset that no one could pass up.  
  
It was also her time to prove that she was going to be a big star, not just the 'chick on the demon show' or the ex-girlfriend of popular TV star Angel O'Connor. They had been broken up for a year now, after he decided that he wanted to break out into movies and needed to be an available mover and shaker. The available part meant for all the hot young women he would be meeting. It hadn't stopped him before to go after other women when he was with her, but once Buffy found out it had obviously taken the fun out of it for him. She was set to break out on her own and blast past him to show him and the world that she didn't need a man on her arm. This was HER time.  
  
"I saw you on 'Star Trek: Enterprise' last night, you know?" The man in the seat next to her wouldn't shut up. Buffy was normally very pleasant to people, especially her fans- the few that she had. But on a plane was not the best place to be talking to her. The man didn't know that so she just smiled at him and hoped that he would take the hint.  
  
"We are now approaching our destination of Los Angeles, California. Could everyone please return their seats to their upright positions and buckle up as we land. Thank you." The captain's voice mercifully came over the intercom and it gave her a chance to look busy.  
  
The man didn't talk to her while they descended, but waited until they had finally walked off the plane.  
  
"I'd hate to bother you again, but I was wondering if I could get your autograph? I was going to ask you on the plane, but you looked a little tense." He smiled at her, shyly.  
  
Buffy smiled back, happy to be back on solid land more than anything. "No problem. Truth is, I'm not a good flyer. " He smiled back and gave her a piece of paper to sign with a pen.  
  
*Hope you had a good flight! Best wishes, Buffy Summers*. She signed her name with a flourish and gave it to the grinning man.  
  
"Thanks so much! I can't wait to show everyone. At my university we all loved your show." He gushed as they walked through the corridor to the airport.  
  
"Glad to hear it." She smiled at him. Buffy had never expected anyone to be this interested in her life, especially after the less than stellar career she had had so far. This gave her hope. She knew that there had been a cult following of the show so maybe this movie would be it. Her ticket to the world. She was now immensely grateful to the man she had met on the plane.  
  
"What are you working on now?" He asked her, not wanting to press but eager to hear more about her. He had fantasized about her since her show had come on the air and was almost crushed when it was cancelled. Demon Hunter had made a great drinking game.  
  
"Actually, keep your eyes peeled. I'm about to shoot into the stars. It was nice to meet you." Buffy shot one last dazzling smile at him as she walked away to get her luggage.  
  
*Like it or not world, here I come.* 


	2. Touched by an Angel

~*~*~*~*~*~* Part 2: Touched by an Angel  
  
See fic, ratings, disclaimer, etc in the first chapter.  
  
REVIEW PLEASE! ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Miss Summers?" A short man in a button up shirt and khakis approached her as she stepped away from security. She was glad that she wasn't one of the ones picked for a full search of her belongings. They never put her stuff back properly and wrinkled everything.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I was sent by the studio to come pick you up and take you to the hotel. My name is Jonathan."  
  
"Hey Jonathan. I don't care where you take me, as long as you get me out of here." She bent down to pick up her suitcases, but obviously couldn't handle the whole set of five bags, so Jonathan bent to help her. "You don't have to do that."  
  
"No problem. I'm an intern, so I'm very used to grunt work." He picked up her luggage and led the way through the throng of people to the front entrance. Buffy shrugged and set off after him. A limo was waiting outside the doors, but Buffy was looking for a more discrete car.  
  
"This way please." Jonathan indicated to the long black vehicle and Buffy's eyes almost bugged out.  
  
"For me?" She asked, surprised. Sure, this may be her big ticket to stardom, but why were they fawning over her now?  
  
"Yes. What did you expect?" He was a little surprised by her naiveté. This was a huge movie, with huge stars. Granted, he knew very little about her but if she had been picked for it then she must be some kind of hot stuff.  
  
"Not a limo, that's for sure." She slipped into the car when he opened the door for her and sank into the plush leather interior. This was going to be so cool. Jonathan sat at the front with the driver and they were off.  
* * * * *  
"I'll help you get your stuff into the hotel and then we'll head over to the studio. You got a copy of the script, right?" Jonathan helped her out of the limo when they got to the hotel she would be staying at for the duration of the shoot. It was a large, swanky Plaza-Hilton-Trump Towers type establishment that Buffy had only passed by on the street. When she had been working on 'Demon Hunter' she got to live in her own apartment as they shot in LA and any other movie she had worked on just put her up in smaller hotels, like Howard Johnson. Since the show had wrapped she had given up her LA apartment and settled back in her home base of Sunnydale.  
  
"Uh, yes. I got one a month or so ago." Buffy grabbed a couple of her bags from the trunk with Jonathan.  
  
"You'll probably get an updated script so I hope you didn't commit the lines to memory yet. Here, let me get a trolley for your stuff." He made to grab her bags but she pulled away.  
  
"Why? I can carry them. And I know enough not to memorize the first version of the script that I get." She huffed away into the hotel, leaving Jonathan to trail behind in her wake.  
  
She knew he was just helping, but she wanted to prove herself so badly. She didn't want to act like a prima donna, especially when no one knew who she was, and she didn't want to come off like a rookie when it came to acting. And he was an intern for pity's sake! Where did he get off telling her how to go about learning her lines and carrying her bags for her and. *God! I AM a bitch!* Buffy thought to herself. She paused in the lobby, letting Jonathan catch up to her.  
  
They walked to the check-in desk to get her keys and as they did Buffy couldn't help but admire the decadent hotel she was in. Right out of 'Pretty Woman' this was, and she was the uncouth hooker waiting to be transformed into the well-mannered elite.  
  
"Hello there. Buffy Summers is checking into her suite." Jonathan spoke for her. Willow had explained that all the reservations had been made for her, she just needed to show up. If this was what the lobby looked like she couldn't wait to see what the studio had put her up in for a room.  
  
"Yes. She's on the 19th floor, room 1. If you would like to leave your baggage here we'll have a bellhop take it up in a moment. Please enjoy your stay here Miss Sunmmers." The man at the check-in desk smiled at her and handed her an electronic card- key to use to unlock her door before typing on his computer at the station.  
  
"Are you alright with leaving your stuff here, Buffy?" Jonathan asked cautiously.  
  
"Yes, that would be fine." Buffy dropped the bags she was carrying where Jonathan put the bags he was carrying, leaving her with only her purse to carry. He led her to the elevators and they waited for one to open, which was not long at all.  
  
"What floor please?" The elevator attendant asked.  
  
"Nineteen, please." Jonathan answered. Buffy was a little uncomfortable in these surroundings, having people take her luggage and push the elevator buttons for her. But she supposed she should have to get used to it soon, if this role was going to make her famous. If things went right she would soon have people wanting to feed her food and carry her to the bathroom if she wanted. *So sad, she thought, that people actually DO make others do those things for her. I don't want to be like that.*  
  
"Jonathan," She started, ignoring the attendant in the moving elevator with them. "I am sorry for what happened out there just now. I didn't mean to go all wiggy on you, I just don't want to come off all stuck- up and in the clouds, you know?"  
  
"Oh, it's no problem at all. It's quite refreshing actually. I have had worse things done and said to me since I have been an intern for the studio. This is the first time I have ever been sent to handle a star personally, so I was just trying to do everything correctly. I am sorry if I over stepped my bounds with you."  
  
"Oh, not at all! You were nothing but nice and helpful. I am just not used to it, is all. I'm nervous about this job, you know?"  
  
"Ah, you'll be great! I watched your show when it was on. I was very disappointed when it was cancelled. And I loved you on "Enterprise." He gushed, revealing his true star stuck nature.  
  
"Thanks. Glad to know that some people watched." She grinned at him as the elevator dinged for their stop. The attendant announced their floor and let them step off.  
  
"Alright, this is you." Jonathan indicated to the first door that they came to on their right as they walked the short distance from the elevator to the room.  
  
"There are only four doors up here. This isn't a penthouse, or something, is it?" Buffy again was swamped by her complete naivete of the situation.  
  
"No, there's only one penthouse, on the top floor. These are just suites." Jonathan took her card-key from her, after she let him and swiped it, allowing them access to the room.  
  
"Just suites." He heard her mutter as they walked into the main room of the suite. It was really an apartment, to Buffy. They were standing in a seating area bigger than her living room and kitchen combined, with a dining room set near the back, where the patio doors were. Off to her left was a small kitchenette, with a mini-fridge, microwave and sink. To her right were large, open double doors that led to her huge bedroom. She walked in and marveled at the beauty of it. There was a huge entertainment system facing the bed with a TV, VCR and DVD player, along with a nice stereo. She found an all-purpose remote for the machines on the bedside table. When she sat on the bed to her left was the bathroom. She walked in and gasped at the luxury of it. There was a shower stall, as well as a whirlpool tub that was big enough to swim in. Candles of all colors were around the tub and sink, as well as a basket of bath accoutrements that when she read the card she found out it was from the studio. *Willow must have told them I love to take baths*, she thought smiling at the heavenly scented products.  
  
When she emerged from the bathroom she walked straight to the second set of patio doors in the suite in her room. She didn't walk out on to the balcony but just looked out over the city of Los Angeles, hardly containing her excitement.  
  
"Hey Buffy?" Jonathan called from the living room. He obviously had not explored the place as she had.  
  
"Yeah?" She poked her head out of the room.  
  
"We need to get to the studio so you can get the new script and meet everyone, ok?" He looked at his watch, checking to make sure that they were not late. They still had enough time to get there.  
  
"Can I just freshen up first?" She asked, wanting to see the bathroom again.  
  
"Sure, I'll go wait for you downstairs in the lobby and get the driver around, ok? I'm leaving your card-key on the table beside the door." Buffy nodded and watched as he left the room. She squealed and ran to the bathroom, flicking on the lights. She quickly touched up her make- up and ran a hand through her hair, making sure it wasn't horribly flat from the flight.  
  
There was no reason why Buffy couldn't make it as a movie star. She had the good looks, and small body. She could act and knew enough about career choices to not get cast as the typical blonde cheerleader. She had the long blonde hair and hazel eyes of the typical beautiful "talent-free" actresses that were so abundant today, as Willow had put it, but she was far from brain dead and ditsy. That was why 'Thief' had appealed to her so much. She was playing the female lead that was in control of her own life and situation until a male got into the mix and screwed things up for her. She wasn't sure who was playing her male lead. Willow had mentioned his name a couple times, William "Spike" Giles, but Buffy hadn't had time over the past month to thoroughly find out who she was. She could have asked Willow to do the legwork for her but she had been busy with her other clients as well so that wasn't an option. All she knew was that he was in a band "Band of Buggered" that was very popular and this was his first movie. She had never heard them perform, as far as she knew, but then again she didn't even have time to research her costar, let alone listen to music or watch movies. She would hopefully find out for herself today. She was very nervous and hoped that he was a sane rock star, not some druggie party animal. She did know that he was handsome however, from what she had heard about him. Even same-sex-oriented Willow said he was good looking.  
She finished checking her hair and grinned at herself one last time before turning off the lights in the bathroom and heading for the door. The first thing she would have to do when she came back was take a bath with all that wonderful bath stuff. She headed for the door, noting that her luggage was now sitting by her door, which must have arrived before Jonathan left.  
  
She was contemplating taking a jacket with her when she started to step out of her room. At the last second she noticed the card-key that Jonathan had left behind on the stand and managed to grab it before she shut the door, thus saving her from the rookie embarrassment of having to get management let her back into her room. *That would be stupid,* she shook her head and turned back out of the doorway quickly, not noticing where she was going.  
  
*Whump* Buffy soon noticed the fine quality of the hotel carpeting as she was sent to the floor as a result of crashing into someone, very hard. She lay with her head touching the floor for a moment while she got the breath back that had been knocked out of her.  
  
"Whoa there, are you alright luv?" A worried English voice came from above her, causing her to groan internally. *Great, only the 6754th time today that I have made an ass of myself.*  
  
Grimly she rolled over, prepared to meet some stuffy coot that would rag her out for not looking where she was going. There was an overhead light right behind the man as she looked at him, causing his face to be obscured as Buffy squinted into the light. Her chest still ached a little from the crash so she didn't try to get up.  
  
As the man's face came closer to see if she was all right, Buffy lost her breath again. This time it was from the man standing above her. The way the light was behind his head made his almost white hair glow, as if he were in a halo and as he leaned down even more she could see the beautiful blue of his eyes, that pierced through her. As if he weren't beautiful enough he had cheekbones that one could ski down, they were so high and perfectly defined.  
  
*Oh yeah, this is heaven.* Buffy thought as he lifted a hand to her forehead. *I'm in the presence of an angel.*  
  
"So, luv. Are you alright, or am I going to have to perform mouth to mouth?" The angel murmured to her, a smirk crossing his beautiful features.  
  
*Oh, boy. On the other hand, he could be a devil too. * 


	3. Drawing Battle Lines

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Part 3: Drawing the Battle Lines  
  
See summary, disclaimer, rating, etc in part 1.  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!!  
  
A/N: Thanks for all the support and great reviews. And to Flames for beta-ing this part for me- you're my savior!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Buffy sat up slowly, watching the man above her.  
  
"So, you're alright then?" The man asked her, a small, but concerned smile on his face.  
  
"Yes, I'll be fine." Buffy accepted his hand to help her up and stood carefully. She was still a little shaky and accidentally stumbled into him, causing her to feel how firm and strong his chest was. She stepped back quickly however and dropped his hand. "Thank you."  
  
"No problem. Next time you should watch where you are going." He smirked at her, looking her over. "I'm not used to knocking girls off their feet in the literal sense."  
  
"Excuse me?!" Buffy had planned on just walking away and heading downstairs where Jonathan was waiting for her, but this man's egocentric view of himself and his suggestion that their mishap was her fault made her stay. "You should watch where I'm going? I am not the one who went barreling down the hallway like a bat out of hell. If you had been watching where you were going we wouldn't be having this discussion! And as far as you knocking girls off of their feet, well." She quickly looked his body over, taking in the bleached hair and gorgeous blue eyes, long black leather duster and the tight black T-shirt with the blood red unbuttoned shirt over it and the black denim jeans that clung to his long and undeniably hard legs. Hello salty goodnes, she thought but forced a look of disgust on her face. "We'll just leave it at that."  
  
"Oh! Oh! I see how it is. Get this, if you hadn't been walking out of you door backward you would have seen me coming, and noticed how much of a hurry I was in! And if we're going to talk about the opposite sex." He followed her example and looked her over a second time. He'd known who she was as soon as she rolled over on the floor. She was his leading lady for the movie. She was actually quite fetching, with her long blonde hair on top of that beautiful head, her face flushed from being knocked down and arguing, hazel eyes flashing, her whole small, tight body tense from their encounter. I could drown in her, he thought, wondering what it would be like to kiss her, before snapping to attention and deepening his smirk. "I don't really want to leave it at that, Goldilocks."  
  
"AGH! Whatever, I have to be somewhere." Buffy turned to head to the elevator but was stopped by his voice.  
  
"I'll be seeing you, luv." She turned to face him.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
He considered telling her, but thought it would be more fun if she found out later when they met again at the studio. "We're neighbors." He pointed to room three, right beside hers, down the hall farther.  
  
"Great. I'll be getting a new room." Buffy muttered, rolling her eyes as she started toward the elevator again.  
  
"Hope we get to know each other better." He called after her, grinning as she shot him an evil glare over her shoulder. He watched as the elevator doors opened and closed after her. This could be fun.if I wasn't late! He thought as he looked at his watch. He muttered a curse and rushed to his suite to get ready to go to the studio.  
* * * * *  
"I was beginning to think you had gotten lost." Jonathan greeted Buffy as she ran out of the elevator.  
  
"Sorry about that. I had a run-in, literally, with someone in the hallway. Anyway, let's hit the road!" Buffy followed Jonathan out of the hotel to the limo and vowed to put all thoughts of the blonde man out of her head. She'd just have to do her best to avoid him. He likely wouldn't be staying long, so she could probably manage to not see him for the duration of his stay. She wouldn't even be at the hotel very much anyway; the days on set were often very long. It'll be easy. I won't have to see that totally annoying, immature, stupid, sexy jerk again. Wait- sexy? Oh, boy.  
  
Buffy slumped back in her seat and covered her face with her hands, groaning as she did so. This could turn out to be a long shoot.  
* * * * *  
When they got to the studio, Jonathan led her into a lounge area where a few other people were milling around. Buffy was quite excited at meeting she people she would be working with her for the next few months.  
  
"If you wouldn't mind waiting in here, the directors writers and other cast members should be here soon for the meet and greet. I've got some other stuff to do, will you be alright here?" Jonathan led her into a lounge area where a few other people were milling around, when they got to the studio. Since she had come in as a replacement for the role the cast and crew already established for the movie had already gotten together to do a run through of the script.  
  
"Sure. Thanks for bringing me this far, Jonathan." Buffy smiled as he left the room and took a deep breath, praying that she wouldn't turn into a total spaz around these people.  
  
"Hi there, you must be Buffy!" A pretty young woman with long, dark brown hair came up to her and offered her a hand. "I'm Cordelia Chase, but you can call me Cordy. I'm playing your best friend/accomplice in the movie."  
  
"Hi, yes I am Buffy. It's nice to meet someone from the movie and finally be able to put a name to a face. I've been so swamped since I got the part I haven't had time to figure out who is who, I'm afraid."  
  
"Oh, it's no worry. No one important is here yet. Just some of the make-up crew and what have you. I think this is nice though, meeting everyone before the actual shooting starts."  
  
"Yes, I was relieved at that. I've heard about people coming on set and the first thing they have to do is film a love scene with someone they have known for an hour." Buffy cringed at that thought, having to do a love scene on her first day.  
  
"I wouldn't be worried about that if I were you. Just to be able to be in the same room as Spike Giles would be amazing, let alone be in bed with him." Cordelia grinned at that.  
  
"I really wouldn't know." Buffy replied.  
  
"What? You don't know who Spike Giles is? William 'Spike' Giles? Wow, I guess you have been swamped this month. Haven't you heard his group 'Band of Buggered'?" Buffy and Cordelia started to walk to the refreshment table as they talked.  
  
"No. I mean, I have heard of his band, just never stuff by his band. Are they good?"  
  
"They're great! So sexy, all of them! I imagine since he'll be in LA for the next few months that they'll be playing a few shows at some clubs around here. We should totally go!" Cordelia said excitedly.  
  
"That would be nice." Buffy was glad that she would be able to have one friend on set, at least. "What does he look like, exactly?"  
  
"Well, he's built- but not muscle-y, you know? Great abs, gorgeous blue eyes, and the whitest h-" Cordelia cut herself off, distracted by the arrival of someone. "Oh, hey, that's the assistant-director, Wesley Wyndam- Price. You met him at the audition, right? He's British, so he's a little proper and stodgy but he's absolutely brilliant. Kind of cute too, don't you think?"  
  
"He's something to look at." Buffy agreed. Wesley scanned the room, which was filling up slowly with minor cast and crew from the movie, and smiled when his eyes fell on Buffy and Cordelia.  
  
"Girls! So glad to see you! Buffy." He offered her his hand as he approached them and they shook hello. "So nice to see you again. I am glad to be working with you on this after all. I was very excited when Julia Stiles decided to bow out. You were always my first choice."  
  
"Good to know. It's good to see you again, as well." Buffy smiled.  
  
"Hello Wesley, remember me?" Cordelia was desperately trying to get the English man's attention. He turned to her and flushed a little.  
  
"Miss Chase, it is good to see you as well. I trust you're doing well?" Buffy slipped away silently, realizing there was something going on between the two of them that she wasn't privy to. She'd probably be able to get it out of Cordy later; by the way she couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut. She noticed there was a percolator on one of the tables set up for refreshments and made a bee-line to it, knowing that she would need caffeine in order to keep going for the rest of the day. She had been up since six in the morning to get ready for her flight, get to the airport, wait for the flight, actually be on the four hour flight and it had been a couple of hours since she had gotten off the plane. She'd been in New York auditioning for a play that she knew she wouldn't get and giving an interview to a sci-fi magazine following up on her stint as the 'Demon Hunter', now nearing four in the afternoon.  
  
She poured herself a stiff cup of coffee and blew on it quickly as she looked around the room, trying to recognize people. She knew the really big stars in show business, at least in acting, but anyone else from TV, or lesser-known movies were a mystery to her. She usually had Willow fill her in on these things.  
  
"Um, hi." A shy voice from her left snapped her out of her thoughts.  
"Hi." Buffy replied, turning to the girl. She was a little taller than Buffy with long, dark blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. She wore a pair of jeans and a nice ruffled top, dressy enough for this event but casual enough to be comfortable. Buffy wished that she had jeans on now, instead of the black dress pants and white sweater.  
  
"I-I'm Tara MacLay. I'm head ofthe make-up on the set." She was painfully shy, and barely met Buffy's eyes. Buffy gave her a warm smile.  
  
"Glad to know. I'm just glad to meet someone else here. I don't know anyone." Buffy said, laughing.  
  
"Oh, well I could point out a few people to you, if you wanted." Tara offered. Buffy smiled at her again.  
  
"That would be super. I'm kind of bad with names too, so having someone tell me a few times who people are would be great. I'd hate to call someone by the wrong name and have them hate me!"  
  
"Oh, no. Everyone you'll be working with are really nice." Tara and Buffy moved to a small set of comfortable chairs, slightly out of the way of people so they could look at them in peace.  
  
As Tara started to tell her who some people were and what they were like Buffy began to relax. Cordy and Tara were really nice and it was great that she'd met them first so she wouldn't be sticking out like a sore thumb, or looking like a dork. She was normally a very confident and self- assured girl but she felt out of her element here. This being such a big movie and she wanted to prove herself so much that she wanted to come across the best way possible. Shut up, Buffy. Just be you. It got you this far. Now suck it up! Her mind yelled at her and Buffy relaxed a little more.  
  
She and Tara were having a great conversation about the movie and what had led them to be involved with it when the door opened again and a few more people came in. There was a general hub coming from the area where the people had come in. Buffy tried to get a look at them but there were now too many people around and most of them were taller than her. She wondered if it was her leading man who walked in and stood up to try to get a better view. Again, she couldn't.  
  
"Do you want to go see who it is?" She asked Tara. She shook her head, choosing instead to watch from afar. Buffy told her she would be right back and made her way through the mini-crowd to see who it was. Some people introduced themselves as she passed them, but she was too intent on seeing her leading man to pay attention, not that she would remember anyway.  
  
"Hey." She said, coming up behind Cordy, who was still standing with Wesley, still talking to him.  
  
"Hey, where have you been?" She asked.  
  
"Talking to some people. Who is it that just came in?" Buffy asked, standing up on her tiptoes.  
  
"Oh, that's Angel O'Conner." Just as the words came out of Cordy's mouth the crowd parted a little and she could see the tall man, with the full head of hair standing by the door. A woman who looked like she stepped out of the pages of Goth Weekly stood beside him with her arms around him protectively. Buffy stood for a moment, in shock as she saw the former lover of her life in person for the first time in over a year. Angel's eyes made their way over some of the people around him, before landing on her. Buffy fought to keep a normal expression on her face but in her mind she was screaming so loud she wondered why her head hadn't exploded yet.  
  
"Buffy." Angel pasted a sly smirk on his face as he made his way to her. His goth dog followed, her hand completely enveloped by his.  
  
"Angel. How. nice to see you again." Buffy said politely. Cordy and Wesley watched the pair closely, not wishing to get involved, but there if need be.  
  
"Same here, Buff, same here. What have you been up to, anyway? I thought I'd seen a publicity shot somewhere of you in elf ears, did my eyes mistake me?" Angel stared at her, his eyes mocking her.  
  
"Actually, they were Vulcan ears. For someone who was so obsessed with Star Trek for so long, I'm surprised that you didn't know the difference." Buffy hadn't meant for that to come out, but it was and now she was the one staring at him. Angel blinked but didn't fall for the bait.  
  
"Oh, is she the one who was on that devil show, honey?" The demonic girl attached to Angel's side spoke finally, in a small, breathy child voice. She was English, but looked like she was from the seventh gate of hell, with her long black hair, long gown with the blood-red bodice and flared black skirt.  
  
"Yes Dru, the one that got canceled." Angel told her. "So you finally landed a decent role. Who knows, you might catch the eye of some guy who isn't scared off by your 'tough girl' role- or you'll attract some really cute girls to your kind of 'butch'-"  
  
Buffy took a deep breath, before cutting him off. "What exactly are you doing in the movie Angel?"  
  
"I play your ex-boyfriend who helps to steal your inheritance, dearie. Kind of like real life, isn't it?" Angel smirked at her, sure he had her. Buffy just smiled sweetly.  
  
"Yeah, it kind of is. You playing a bit part, while some other hunk of a man takes the lead role in my life. Fitting, isn't it? I bet you auditioned for the lead, too, didn't you? Too bad, maybe next year you'll be a real man." With that Buffy brushed past him out of the room, noticing as she did so, the shocked look in his eye and jaw clenching in annoyance. She needed to find a bathroom, fast.  
  
She scurried down the hall, trying to look as normal as possible, breathing a sigh of relief when she finally did. She ducked into the room and headed for the mirror.  
  
"You did good in there, girl. Don't let him get to you or see you sweat and you are home free." She told herself. She thought back on the conversation she had just had and smiled to herself. "That was damn good."  
She quickly washed her hands, as if washing off the bad Angel karma and prepared herself to go back into the meet and greet room. You made it to here. Someone knows that you have talent and that is why you are here. They could have picked any old blonde bimbo to replace Julia Stiles, but they chose you. Get out of here and kick some ass!  
  
Buffy stood up and threw her shoulders back, holding her head high. She opened the bathroom door and reached up with her right hand to push her hair back. That move caused her to not see the quick moving person coming down the hall and the next thing she knew she was sprawled out on the floor, admiring yet another posh looking carpet.  
  
There is no way that this can happen twice in one day. She thought as she groaned to herself. She would hurt tomorrow, that's for sure. At least the day was almost over and things couldn't get any worse.  
  
Her eyes widened as the Gods cursed her for that thought.  
  
"You know, Goldilocks, we have to stop meeting this way." 


	4. Building BridgesBurning Bridges

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Part 4: Building Bridges/Burning Bridges  
  
See Part 1 for disclaimer, rating, summary, etc. PLEASE REVIEW!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me? What the hell?" Buffy managed to get out in a jumble of words as she rolled over and sat up. She made sure she still had her purse and stood up, much easier this time, without the aid of his outstretched hand. "Never mind. I'm late."  
  
She tried to brush past him and down the hall to get back to the party but he grabbed her arm. Even though she didn't know who he was and he was a little scary his touch sent shivers down her spine.  
  
"What's your hurry? Things like this happen for a reason, you know? Maybe the Powers that Be are trying to tell us something." He grinned at her.  
  
"Yeah, maybe they are telling me to do this." With that she stomped on his foot, causing him to yelp in pain.  
  
"Bloody hell woman, what did you do that for?" He yelled, hopping up and down on his non-injured foot. For someone so tiny she sure could hurt another. *Course the fact that she's wearing goddamn spikes for shoes helps with that.*  
  
"Leave me alone. I don't know who the hell you are, but if you don't go away I'll be forced to call security." With that Buffy set off down the hall. Spike hobbled after her, not wanting to scare her anymore.  
  
"Wait, please?" He called.  
  
"No, go away!" Buffy was beginning to get a little worried about this man following her. She definitely would have to ask for a room change when she got back the hotel, if she didn't call the cops and have him arrested first.  
  
"Buffy! Wait!" He caught up to her as she got to the door of the meet and greet room. As her hand turned the knob a thought crossed her mind.  
  
"How to you know my name?" She asked as the door turned into the room, revealing an even more crowded room than when she left. He put his arm around her waist and led her into the room.  
  
"Hey, wait. You can't come in h-" Buffy was cut off by a loud voice that effectively cut through the other hums all over the room.  
  
"Spike Giles! So glad you could finally make it! And I see you've met your leading lady." Wesley made it across the room from where he was standing, still with Cordy, with his hand out stretched. Buffy felt her stomach drop as she realized how big of a mistake she had made.  
  
"Well, we weren't properly introduced. 'Allo there, pet. My name is Spike and I will be your on screen lover." Spike threw her a sly smirk as he shook her hand that made Buffy want to sink just a little further into the hole she had dug for herself.  
  
"I can't wait to see you two on camera together. We're all very excited with this pairing. You'll be a hit on screen, just like you are on the stage." Wesley gushed.  
  
"Buffy, I thought that you said you didn't know Spike." Cordy came up beside Buffy and saved her from listening to the two men any longer.  
  
"I don't. We just kind of. ran into each other outside." Buffy told her.  
"Isn't he just too sexy? I mean, there's the whole bad-boy attitude he's supposed to have that's enough to make a girl weak in the knees. Then there are those cheekbones and those eyes and that-"  
  
"I get it Cordy." Buffy felt a headache coming on. One that would only be solved by her going back home to Sunnydale and hiding under a huge rock, never to be heard from again.  
* * * * *  
The rest of the meet and greet went forward without further incident. Buffy met with the man who would be playing Spike's best friend in the movie, Xander Harris and took an instant liking to him. He was funny and not overwhelming, very far from the typical Hollywood man persona. She talked with Tara some more and managed to steer clear of Angel and his new girl, Dru, as he called her. She knew that she would have to come face to face with him again, but that would be for business, this was pleasure. She would have to call and rag out Willow however, for not giving a heads up if she knew.  
  
She also managed to stay away from Spike, worried that he would cause her to end up on the floor yet again or they would have another awkward encounter. She wasn't sure what to think of him yet. She didn't know him yet, but she didn't think that she liked him, despite him being so damn good looking. She would just have to maintain a working relationship with him and keep things moving smoothly between the two of them, especially since they were playing love interests in the movie.  
  
Finally the end of the get together was winding down, at almost seven in the evening. Buffy hadn't realized how long they had been there or how tired she was until she saw people get up to leave. Some of them were going out to the clubs she knew, because Cordy had asked her to go with her and a couple others but Buffy declined, explaining the long day she had had. She heard the basket of bath supplies and her big suite bed calling her.  
  
She got ready to leave, telling Tara and Xander who she had been talking with that she would likely see them on-set in a couple of days when they began shooting. She stopped and said goodbye to Wesley who gave her the final draft of the script.  
  
"It hasn't changed drastically from the copy that you have, but there are some changes, so look it over carefully tomorrow."  
  
"My last day of sort-of freedom, right?" She smiled.  
  
"Oh yes. Then it's all work, work, and work. Have a good night, Buffy."  
  
"You too, Wesley."  
  
Before she left the room she took a quick glance around to see if Spike had left yet, then cursed herself for doing so.*Who cares if he's here or in Timbuktu? Just don't humiliate yourself around him anymore and keep it professional.* Her gaze fell on Angel, sitting in a corner with Dru, whispering in her ear. She would hold her head high against him as well. She turned and left the room, saying goodbye to a few other people who she didn't remember on the way.  
  
She made her way downstairs to the front entrance to wait for a car to take her back to the hotel, as the studio made sure there were some waiting for them. As she stepped outside she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. of cigarette smoke?  
  
"What the *cough* hell?" She said, looking to her left. She rolled her eyes as her gaze fell on the one person she prayed she would never see again for all eternity.  
  
"Not a fan of second hand smoke, I see?" Spike asked.  
  
"Obviously not." Buffy replied. She frowned at him as he took another drag. Sighing on his exhale he threw the butt to the ground and stepped on it.  
  
"Happy?" He asked.  
  
"Standing here with you? No."  
  
"Thanks luv. It's a bed of roses being here with you too." He leaned against the building, crossing his arms. His duster moved around him, making him look like some kind of superhero.  
  
"You have to be one of the most unpleasant people that I know." Buffy told him.  
  
"Me? You're the one putting me down every bloody time you see me, which could get a bit old when we see each other every day on set and in the hotel."  
  
"At least I don't make a habit of knocking people to the ground every time I see them." Buffy shot back.  
  
"I said I was sorry. I'm not the one stepping out into fast moving areas without looking. Bet you play in traffic too."  
  
"Whatever. This is retarded."  
  
"That it is. So stop it."  
  
"Me? You stop it,"  
  
"For the love of Christ, just shut up." He groaned. Buffy looked like she would throw something back at him, but remained silent, agreeing that was the best way to get around this.  
  
They stood in silence for another few minutes before a limo finally pulled up. Buffy sighed with relief and moved towards the vehicle; not realizing Spike was doing the same. Their hands reached for the handle at the same time, as the driver got out of the car.  
  
"This is my car." They both said at the same time.  
  
"No, it's mine." They said again. They stood; hands still on the door handle, glaring at each other.  
  
"Uh, sir, ma'am? The car is big enough for both of you, as long as neither of you are in a rush to get to your places we can work with this." The driver offered a solution. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To the hotel." They answered at the same time again, eliciting a glare from each other.  
  
"The same one? That's great, no waiting then." The driver clapped his hands together to get them to move, but neither did. They just stood, almost nose-to-nose waiting for the other to make a move. Finally the driver stepped forward and opened the door for them, surprising them both. Buffy muttered her thanks and slid in first, Spike after her then the door shut. They sat in silence at first, both rethinking what had just happened.  
  
*Jesus, what the hell was THAT Buffy? You want to remain on a platonic level, not even recognizing him as a person and you were almost holding his hand! What a jerk he is! What a moronic, stupid jerk with really strong hands and he smells SO good. shut up Buffy.* She frowned to herself as she thought.  
  
*Bloody hell, man. Get yourself together. You've been around plenty of chits in your day, any of them as pretty as her- if not more so! Just because she has warm hands and gorgeous hair and smells like the sweetest vanilla ever doesn't mean anything. Just because she's sleeping in the next suite over to you and you could just.. shut up, you bloody wanker!* Spike shifted on the seat and pulled his duster around him as he took notice of his reaction to his thoughts about her.  
  
"I suppose this is the smartest thing to do." Buffy said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Hmmm? What are you talking about?" Spike snapped out of his haze.  
  
"Taking one car to the hotel. Saves the driver some work, and the environment some hassle and. stuff." Buffy didn't want to be here, in such close quarters with him. When he had bowled her over the first time he was so good looking that she thought he was an angel, then the second time she had known who he was just from his voice and he had given her shivers, and just now when she was glaring at him so intently, toe-to-toe with him she had wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Just once, and quickly, just so she got a taste. That would be interesting.  
  
"Yeah, guess so." He wracked his brain trying to think of something to say so he could keep her talking, especially on something so civil. He guessed that they would soon be arguing again. He wanted to be off the thought of her face being so close to his as well. So close he could feel her breath mingling with his and he could smell the strawberry lipgloss she had on, lipgloss that would feel so good if he were to just reach out and-  
  
"Did you get your script?" He asked, frantically trying to get his mind off things that would make them both uncomfortable if she saw the way they were affecting him below the belt.  
  
"Yes. Tomorrow I'm line girl. I went over my first script pretty good, so I don't think this will be too hard." Buffy relaxed at this nice conversation they were having. Maybe he wasn't so bad.  
  
"Yeah, me too. If you want I'd be happy to go over lines with you, get some stuff ironed out before we even get to set. Plus, this is my first movie, so it would be nice having someone who knows what she's doing help me." Spike internally gave a little yell of success as she turned in her seat to face him better, her face lit up.  
  
"That would be great. I would much rather go over my lines with someone. I don't know how much help I can give, because this is my first big movie, but I can try my best."  
  
"I thought you were great on that demon show." Spike offered, seeing her eyes sparkle as he mentioned her old show.  
  
"You watched that thing? That's funny. I wouldn't think you would have had time."  
  
"Even rock stars get downtime, pet. You've listened to my music, haven't you?" He smiled at her.  
  
"Actually, no. I don't let myself get too much downtime. I hear you're really good though!" She offered, seeing his slightly hurt expression. "I'll have to go out and get your CD. I have been meaning to, especially since I got the part, but this month has been crazy busy."  
  
"I have some copies in my room, if you want. I'll even autograph it for you." He covered.  
  
"Sure, that would be really nice. It's not just you, so you know. I wouldn't know a rock start or movie star from a janitor right now. I just don't keep up to date on that stuff. If my manager tells me to watch or listen to something, then I do, but unless it's on my schedule, I don't even know it's alive. I killed my fish that way." Buffy bit her lip as she heard him laugh a loud rich sound that she smiled at.  
  
"This is really nice, you know? We never would have had this nice conversation and gotten to know each other if you didn't have to take my car. This was fun. Now that we're back at the hotel, do you want to maybe get a drink or something?" He asked.  
  
Buffy just stared at him like he had three heads.  
  
"Wha'? He asked.  
  
"Ok, first of all, it was MY car. Second of all, if I didn't 'have to take' your car? You would have left me on the street all alone in LA, without anything to protect me? You are such an ass! You wouldn't even have let a woman take a car so she wouldn't get mugged unless you HAD to? Spike, you are a pig." Luckily the car had stopped outside the hotel, because Buffy reached over him to open the car door, sending Spike's mind into a tailspin as her breasts rubbed against his chest and he inhaled her sweet smell, but that didn't last long because she pushed him out of the car. He barely had time to catch himself on his feet as he fell outside the car. Buffy climbed out after him, swinging her purse onto her shoulder in a huff.  
  
"Goodnight, Mr. Giles." Buffy stalked off to the hotel, leaving Spike in her wake, scratching his head about what happened.  
  
*I have to work with THAT for the next twelve weeks?* Both blondes thought as they lost themselves in their version of the car ride. 


	5. One Step Nowhere, Three Steps Back

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Part 5: One Step Nowhere, Three Steps Back  
  
See Part 1 for disclaimer, rating, summary, etc.  
  
Special thanks to Miss Kitty for being such an AWESOME beta! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed and has been SO nice to my efforts at writing!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Buffy huffed her way into her suite, stormed into her room and threw herself on the bed. She lay there for a few minutes, thinking about what had happened in the car. *He is SUCH an ass! I have to work with him for the next three months and act all lovey-dovey with him some days when I cringe at the thought of his body anywhere NEAR me! * Well, you must not hate it that much considering you wondered what it would be like to kiss him, her mind taunted back at her. *Yeah, but that was before he turned into the supreme ass of Assdonia*. 'Ah, suck it up Barbie,' her mind threw back at her,' you get to work with a hunk of a man and get paid for it. Things could be a hell of a lot worse.'  
  
"I suppose my leading man could be Angel." Buffy muttered as she sat up. She thought back to the comment slinging she and Angel had done at the party and had to smile. He had no idea who she was now, and that pleased her to no end. When he had left her she was a shell of who she was now, a person who had to cling to another to be someone. She *was* someone now, that's for sure and she was cling-free, and she would never go back.  
  
*But that doesn't mean I can't indulge myself in a little snooping to find out who Spike is.* Buffy smiled to herself and went out to the entryway where her bags still sat. She dragged them into her room, one by one and began to unpack them, trying to get most of her things into a place of their own.  
  
She eventually got to her laptop, stashed among the rest of her things, cushioned by clothing to keep it from getting damaged. She abandoned the rest of her efforts to unpack and set up her computer on the dining room table in the main room. Willow had convinced her to get a computer because it saved her a lot of hassles the phone held. For one, Willow was much more easily reached by email as she was *always* on the computer. When her mom went out on business and long distance was a killer, she just had to type away and she could reach her and now that her sister Dawn was in university she didn't have money to waste on frivolous stuff like calling her sister. And now it could be used to find some dirt on her co-star.  
  
"Ok. So if I were an annoying, pain-in-the-ass pig where would I be?" Buffy muttered to herself as she logged on to the Internet. She went to Yahoo! And typed in Spike Giles, not prepared for the flood of information that came at her. "Whoa, guess he *is* popular. Who'd a thought?"  
  
She clicked on a few sites; not really finding anything but female pre-pubescent adoration, which she concluded had to do with these girls being uneducated and not knowing any better. The more serious sites that she found had biographies on them about him, detailing his wild exploits both on and off stage. She found a posting board where people talked about his partying, drugs and alcohol. The board had been shut down a couple of years before hand, but the information was right there, staring her in the face. She found a few other sites, ones that were more current that posted stories about his mood swings, and how volatile he would sometimes be on stage.  
  
All this worried Buffy to no end. She had to work with him, pretend to be intimate with him, knowing that any second he could turn on her and become psychotic. *So maybe him bugging me to death isn't the worst thing that could happen to me. Maybe I shouldn't put too much faith in what these sites say. I mean, they aren't exactly the Washington Post or something. But then again, when one person says something, it's a rumor. When two people say something it's a coincidence. When MANY people say the same thing it's either really creepy or really right.*  
  
Buffy sat back in her chair. "Well, I guess I'll just have to go about my business with as little contact with him as possible. Just because we are staying beside each other doesn't mean we have to be neighbors." With that she shut down her computer and readied a bath.  
  
*I refuse to let ANY man screw up this opportunity for me.*  
* * * * *  
  
Spike held the autographed CD in his hands, turning it round and round, wondering what he should do. Tonight had *not* gone the way he had wanted, at all. He truly did want to get to know Buffy, especially after he had met her. She was a spitfire, that's for sure, but she was strung tighter than a tennis racket. They had been having a really great conversation, and he thought that tomorrow they could go over lines together, maybe catch a bite to eat, but then she had to misconstrue something that he said and now she was mad at him-for the three thousandth time that day.  
  
He knew that she was fairly green in the entertainment business. She had done that TV show, which flopped. He didn't think that it was because of her though; she was bloody brilliant in it, the show just sucked. And she had been in a couple of small movies that hadn't gotten her much exposure. This was his first foray into acting but he had been in the public eye for the better half of five years now. He and his band had been together for almost ten, but then when he was twenty an agent had discovered them playing at some public telethon and had told them to get a demo together. In record time they had five songs on a tape to the scout. Granted it wasn't their best work, especially because they were rushing, but it had gotten them to where they were right now.  
  
The fame had rushed to their heads, or at least to his. He had girls throwing themselves at him, people shoving cameras in his face, drugs thrust under his nose and alcohol flowed like a river. He had almost toppled them as soon as they arrived on the scene, something that had not been happily received by the other members of his group. An intervention was staged and he was confronted with his public image, something that he had not considered. He had clued into what he was doing and straightened up, quitting the drugs and most of the alcohol. He still kicked back sometimes, and partied, but always with his career and fellow band mates in mind. They had kept him sane.  
  
Them and Dru. Which was funny because she turned out to be more insane then he even dreamed a person could be. The groupies had grown old- fast. So when he found Dru he was excited. He had someone to share his success with, who would be there for him and support him through harder times. That had been right in the beginning, but then she got possessive and weird, talking in rhymes at times. He knew that she had been dubbed "Yoko" by the press and even some of his band had issues with her, but they didn't say anything. As long as he kept his head above water things were cool.  
  
He supposed that Dru got bored. She had been getting distant for a while before the actual break-up had happened. He was devastated at first; pouring everything he had into his music. An album had come out of that, and got 'Band of Buggered' nominated for a Grammy. Dru had actually done something good for him.  
  
His stage act persisted however. The loud, brash rocker who didn't give a damn. It was part of his sex appeal and drew in the female fans. He knew that the bulk of success in entertainment was image, but just once he would love to go to a gig, and just sing. Sing as if it was just he and one other person in the room, quiet and confident of his abilities, knowing that the other person cherished him. But that wouldn't happen while "Big Bad" Spike was in demand. He was trying to turn his image around gradually and he hoped that this role would help with that. He wanted to leave his wild child days behind.  
  
Great place to start that, on the very movie that his ex was in. He knew that she was going to be working on the movie (albeit in a minor role) but when he had seen her today it had punched a small hole in his gut. He didn't love her anymore, but part of him wondered what would have, or could have been if she hadn't left. Now she was with that flying poof Angel O'Connor, who, incidentally, was the ex of his now enemy Buffy Summers. That was an interesting turn of events if he ever saw one. He didn't know what she had seen in the human hair gel master but he knew how the relationship had ended and he felt bad for her. At least Dru had never cheated on him, as far as he knew. Angel wasn't even trying to hide his affairs, either. Now that was a cold-hearted bastard.  
  
He almost felt sorry for her, but then he remembered her Carrie-esque mood swing in the limo when she shoved him out of the vehicle, not caring if he lived. He would try to get to the bottom of her PMS fest, but after that he would pull no punches. If she wanted to act that way he could return the favor.  
  
*I refuse to let any sodding women ruin this chance for me.* Spike thought as he set the CD down on his bedside stand.  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy stretched her arms wide, yawning. She had been sitting by the pool for almost three hours now, looking over her script. She had gotten up around ten, had breakfast and then looked over her script, first in her room and then decided to try out the indoor pool area. It was delightfully quiet as there were only a couple other people swimming.  
  
She had been worried that she would run into Spike today at some point but it was almost five in the afternoon and there had been no sign of him. She didn't know how to act around him now that she knew he was such a bad ass. She didn't know if she should treat him normal, or the way that she *had* been treating him because he was such an ass, or if she should just minimize any contact with him, in case he wanted to get wild and freaky with her. She normally didn't care about what other people did with their lives, but if he decided to go on a bender during the movie it could put her role in danger. She preferred to work with clean co-stars anyway.  
  
*It's only three months, and then it's over. He can surely wait till then to kill himself. * Buffy thought. *At least with this new information it makes him less desirable.*  
That's what Buffy thought until she saw him come through the double doors to the pool. He was prepared to swim, with a towel thrown over those toned shoulders of his, black swim trunks on that left everything else bare- chest, legs, arms, flip-flops on his feet and he was carrying his script.  
Buffy just sat and stared at him, not realizing what she was doing. * Maybe this new info DOESN'T make him any less desirable. * She swallowed hard, watching as he laid his things on a lounger further down on her side of the pool. He hadn't spotted her yet. Buffy tried to think of how to get out of there without him seeing her.  
* * * * *  
  
Spike had woken up fairly refreshed, ate some breakfast on his balcony and then tackled his script. He had a general idea of the lines from the previous script that he had, but now it was crunch time. He had to start learning these things so he wouldn't be a complete loser on set.  
  
Finally around five he had decided to take a short break and head downstairs to the pool. He had not seen Buffy all day and was not sure if he was ready to, so he figured the pool would be a good bet to not be seen.  
  
He was totally focused on that gorgeous blue water when he got to the indoor pool and made a beeline for it when he put his stuff down. He loved to swim when he had the chance and this hotel had a heated indoor pool, he had scored with that one.  
  
He had done a couple of laps across the width of the pool, just trying to limber up a little before he rested on the side and looked around. He was surprised to see her, a short blonde thing with a classic California tan (quite the contrast to his pale, almost ghost white skin), sunk low in her chaise lounge and trying to hide in her script. He grinned to himself and thanked the fates, as this had to be a chance. He hoisted himself out of the water and grabbed his towel before making his way to her.  
  
"Allo, luv. Nice day, isn't it?" He sat down in the chair across from her as she lowered her script with a resigned sigh.  
  
"Hi." Was all she said back.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be avoiding me, would you luv?"  
  
"What? Just because I'm not falling at your feet like a groupie you think something is wrong?" She shot back. Spike almost scratched his head in confusion. *Why in the hell is she so hostile?*  
  
"No, but you seem to be hiding over here like a lost kitten. Just wondering when this cone of silence deal will be over. And if you want to be my groupie I wouldn't mind." He smirked, hoping to get a rise out of her.  
  
"I'd prefer not to get tied up in your lifestyle, Mr. Giles. Thank you." Was her short reply.  
  
"My lifestyle? What does that mean? I did yoga for awhile, but that can't be it." "I mean the wild man lifestyle? The drugs and the booze and girls. I just *love* working with a guy who comes to work high all the time." Buffy's voice oozed sarcasm.  
  
"What the fuck are you on about, you silly little bint?" Spike's voice rose in anger.  
  
"You and your rock star image. Isn't that what rock stars do? Party all the time. I know that's what you do."  
  
"Did. That is what I *did.* I thought you said you didn't know who I was?"  
  
"Yeah well I did some research."  
  
"Where, the *Star?* Some other cheesy tabloid? You don't know what you are talking about!" Spike was angry, but also frustrated and sad at the same time. Would his rep as a drug addled bad-boy *ever* go away?  
  
"I have more than one account saying that you like to live it up. Do you deny it?" "I deny it *now!* A few years ago I probably would be high and drunk right now. But I'm clean. Ask anyone."  
  
"Anyone who doesn't say you're lying." Buffy got up to leave but she was hauled back down by Spike, who looked positively murderous.  
  
"I think you must have put your tampon in the wrong hole today, luv, cause we have some major PMS- attitude, wrong-side-of-the-bed shit going on."  
  
"I think you had better let me go." Buffy said calmly, waiting for his hand to move.  
  
"I think we need to talk." He didn't let go.  
  
"I think you need to *let* go of my arm." Buffy repeated, her voice rising a little.  
  
"I don't know where you do your research, but you need to be set straight. You are going to listen to me."  
  
"*Let go of my arm!*" Buffy half shrieked, panicked. Spike complied this time, a little shocked at that, and worried that she might bolt. She didn't, just glared at him. "Enlighten me then."  
  
"I'm clean. Have been for a few years now. No drugs, anyway. But I'm not an alcoholic either. I'm not stupid." He ignored Buffy's snort. "Why did you believe those things you heard?"  
  
"If the shoe fits." Buffy replied, staring him straight in the eye. She was very surprised and a little guilty to see the hurt in his eyes, clear as day. He turned his head away so she couldn't see but when he turned back his face was neutral, bordering on psychotic.  
  
"You know, when I got this part I thought it would be really fun. I thought I would get to see a new part of show business, meet some nice people, whatever. I dismissed all preconceptions I had or that I had heard about you, that you were a typical blonde, that you were a bad actress, your basic blonde bubblehead. I wanted to get past that and see who you really were because I thought you were a great actress, and you're beautiful and full of energy. I had hoped that the same courtesy would be afforded to me, especially after you said you didn't have time to find out who you were working with on this movie. I wasn't. But I did find out that you aren't a blonde bubblehead. You're just a bitch." He said all this quietly, hushed. With that Spike stood up, walked to his lounge to pick up his stuff and left the pool area.  
  
Buffy stared after him and had the strongest urge to start crying.  
  
ewHe 


	6. Fire in the Hole

Part 6: Fire in the Hole Thank you, thank you, thank you to my AMAZING beta- Miss Kitty!! She kicks much ass! PLEASE REVIEW!!  
  
After that day by the pool Buffy and Spike avoided each other like the plague. He held the opinion that she was a stuck-up, judgmental snob and she thought that he was a drug addled loser freak. Life was good.  
  
Good for everyone except for those who had to work with them on-set. It had been three weeks since that fateful day, and luckily the majority of scenes that were being shot were with the minor characters and some of the scenes where Buffy and Spike's characters hated each other. The premise of the movie was that Buffy's character Laney had to rob a bank in order to get her inheritance which was cheated out of her by her father's associate and former lover, played by Angel. Spike's character Jake was attempting to steal Buffy's car as she robbed the bank and got caught as her hostage. He decided to blackmail her with turning her in to get some of her money, and she threatened to kill him, so they are each being held by the other. They set out to avoid the authorities and track down her co-conspirator, played by Cordelia, who split from Buffy/Laney in order to take the money to a safe place.  
  
Shooting was all well and good while Laney and Jake were supposed to be hating each other and taking each other hostage, but soon that would change, because along the way they would start caring for each other and that would involve kissing and love-making and touching in places that Buffy and Spike didn't even want to think about. They knew this day was coming, they just didn't know it would be so soon. They somehow got lucky with the shooting schedule being arranged with the hating scenes planned first. Today they were shooting in a motel room, filming one of their bargaining scenes where Jake counters her hostage taking with blackmail. An argument was, of course, to occur.  
  
"Are you sure it isn't too late to make Laney some kind of leper or something?" Buffy asked Wesley hopefully. She knew that she could gripe to him and not have to worry about him getting mad, but the executive producer of the movie was a scary little man named Snyder who didn't really like Buffy, or anyone for that matter.  
  
The tension on set between the two blondes had been growing since the movie began shooting, but today it had almost come to a head. The rest of the cast and crew were waiting for shit to hit the fan for about a week now, and knew that today it would likely happen.  
  
"Buffy." Wesley started. Buffy waved her hands in the air.  
  
"I know, I know. Act professional and all that." She said as she walked away, the man looking after her.  
  
"That isn't what I was going to say." He sighed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Alright people, places. Lets try and get this done!" Snyder barked. Buffy sighed and took her place next to the bed, where Spike was slumped, waiting for the scene to start. She had a fake gun in her hand and was dressed in black from head to toe, having robbed the bank a couple yet to be shot scenes earlier.  
  
"Let's get this over with." He muttered, standing up as Snyder took his place by the monitor.  
  
"Don't screw up then." Buffy retorted, more under her breath than anything, partly because she wasn't sure if he was talking to her and partly because she really didn't want to start something with him. Too late, though.  
  
"What's that now?" He asked her, angrily.  
  
"Nothing, nothing. Just get over it. Lets get this over with, right?" She spat back.  
  
"Crazy bint." He muttered. They both had murderous expressions on their faces as Snyder yelled action, which actually fit perfectly with the scene.  
  
"Look, I don't like this anymore than you do. But you're a hostage, you're not supposed to like it." Buffy/Laney crossed her arms and stared down at Spike/Jake.  
  
"Well the way I look at it, I've go you by the shorthairs." He smirked at her, in character.  
  
"And how do you see that, bleached wonder?"  
  
"Sure, you have me as your little hostage, for right now. But if I'm going to be in your custody for the next little while, I think I deserve some monetary reimbursement. For lost wages and all that."  
  
"Lost wages? You steal cars for a living you prick. And how do you think *I* will be paying *you*?"  
  
"Well," Spike/Jake started, standing up. Buffy/Laney pointed the gun at him, but he kept coming at her till the gun was against his chest. "You have a hefty sum of money coming to you, don't you? Sure, you have to cut your partner in, but it's not like you won't still have enough to do an *Indecent Proposa*l roll in the millions left over." He dropped his voice seductively. "And that is something that I wouldn't mind seeing, actually."  
  
Buffy knew it was her line, but having him so close to her, feeling his breath on her, picturing the things he was saying caused her to fumble her lines.  
  
"I- I hardly- er- don't think.." She trailed off as Snyder yelled cut.  
  
"Bloody hell, Summers. Can't you get anything right? Want to get this done soon, eh?" Spike moved away from her. Buffy cursed herself.  
  
"*SO* sorry King Spike. Didn't mean to keep you from your precious rock-star commitments or whatever the hell you have to do. Or who you have to do."  
  
"Get off your high horse Summers. You're just jealous that I actually have something exciting to do with my life off this set. I know it must be a spine-tingling adventure sitting in your hotel room, looking over your damn script all the time, not that it did any good for you."  
  
"Oh, fuck off Spike!" Buffy exploded; tired of this cycle of hate and rage they kept going through. She didn't even pay attention to the people standing around, watching their impromptu fight. "At least I'm not out there, whoring around or sticking God knows what up my nose."  
  
"Ok, if you're going to fight with me, get the facts straight. And I hardly think you are one to rant at me for my choices in women!" He yelled back. "Last I looked you were single, or are you dating some invisible man?"  
  
"I'd rather be single, then dating anything that walks. But you sure pushed that boundary with Dru, didn't you? What was it like fucking a wannabe-corpse? Does she look that stiff and cold *all* the time? Or was it just from dating you?" Buffy knew that she had crossed a line, but didn't really care at that point.  
  
"You want to rehash past relationships? Fine then, we will! I may be fucking groupies, as you seem to adamant to think but at least I'm getting some. When was the last time *you* saw a dick?"  
  
"I'm looking at one *right now*! Why would anyone with half a brain want to be with you anyway? Retarded, drugged up groupies, that's who! Stupid hair, sad attempt at a Goth look, doesn't want to fit in with the music group anymore, and you don't know how to act! Poor Spikey, where do you fit in? You can't do anything right." Buffy screamed.  
  
"At least I wasn't rejected by a b-grade actor with nasty gelled hair. Can't even satisfy a *sad* excuse for a man, can you pet? Must be pretty hard for you, knowing that a wannabe-corpse that is cold and stiff all the time is what makes your man all hot and bothered! You reel the guys in, and they just throw you back. At least my groupies don't act like two-bit whores!"  
  
*CRUNCH* the fight ended there when Buffy's fist connected with his nose and blood started to gush out.  
  
"You're an asshole, Spike!" Buffy screamed, moving in to take another swing at him while he was clutching his face. An arm wrapped around her waist as the crew suddenly sprang into action. They had sat back and let the blonde duo get their frustrations out but when it turned physical they had to step in.  
  
"Whoa there, Buffy. Calm down." Wesley dragged her away from Spike as an on-set medic came to look at his nose.  
  
"I hope it's broken, you bastard!" Buffy screamed over her shoulder as Wesley led her out of the motel room. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp as they got outside. They went into the room next to the one they were shooting in that they had checked out for scene set-up and a break room.  
  
"Sit." Wesley's tone made Buffy cringe inside. She had just done the most unprofessional thing ever back there. The best she could hope for out of this was to be fired and be able to work again in show business.  
  
"I am so-" She started.  
  
"Cut it. I know you didn't mean to do this, I know you are more professional than that, I get that. I know things are not the best that they could be between you two right now. But Buffy, you have to get over it." Wesley sat in a chair facing her as she sat on the bed.  
  
"I know. I have been trying for the past few weeks. I have been doing my best to stay out of his way and not provoke things on set. I don't know what else to do."  
  
"I think that staying out of his way might be the problem. You two have made no effort to get to know one another better, have nothing more than basic conversation. Look, I have worked on movies where the stars hate each other and it sucks. The chemistry just isn't there and it sinks the movie."  
  
"I am so sorry Wes! I swear that I am going to try harder. I won't sink the movie, I swear." Buffy was almost sobbing at the thought of being named 'the girl who ruined the movie' in all Hollywood circles for the rest of her life.  
  
"I know you won't. I'm not worried about that at all." Wes handed her a Kleenex that Buffy blew her nose on. He stood up and walked to the door. "Wait here for a minute, ok?" She just nodded.  
  
*You've certainly bungled this one up good, haven't you?* Buffy thought miserably. *Great way to break out in Hollywood- break someone's nose.*  
  
Wesley was back in a minute, dragging a very pissed Spike behind him. He took a seat beside her on the bed, holding a cold pack to his nose.  
  
"I'm sorry." Buffy said softly.  
  
"You damn well should be! I'm just lucky it isn't broken!" Wesley cleared his throat as Spike's voice rose. He looked at the man and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry too. Said some stuff that shouldn't have been said. You've got quite the arm on you, remind me not to get so close to you when we fight again."  
  
"Hopefully that won't be happening anymore." Wesley spoke up. The two blondes looked at him like he had three heads, wondering how he would ever get them to stop fighting. *Unless he's firing me,* Buffy thought, panicking slightly.  
  
"I've talked it over with Snyder and we have decided what we're going to do. Don't worry, Buffy, we're not firing you." He added quickly as he noticed the slight girl's chin start to quiver. "He basically left the decision up to me, actually. His ideas of how to get you guys to get along weren't the best in the world. So, you two have the next two days off."  
  
Buffy and Spike just looked at him but their bodies relaxed visibly. Both thought that he wanted them to get some space between them. "You two are going to spend the next two days getting to know each other."  
  
"Huh? How?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well, today's Thursday, so tomorrow and Saturday you two will spend every second possible together. You each will get a day to do whatever you want but the other has to do it as well."  
  
"And if I decide to drive red-hot pokers into my eyes? Will she have to do it too?" Spike asked, only receiving a glare from both Wes and Buffy.  
  
"What if we don't do it?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Then we will have to let you go. We want you guys to do the best we know you have. There is no way you will be able to carry off the love scenes without ruining the movie."  
  
"Are you planning on sending a chaperone with us to make sure we aren't killing each other, or to make sure we actually *are* together?" Spike asked.  
  
"No. But I will be calling you two at random times of the day to make sure you're together. It isn't just my movie that's in danger, but your careers. No one will want to work with you if they know that you don't get along well with co-stars or that you can't act past your feelings towards another."  
  
"Does he have to go *everywhere* with me? Cause I have that thing tomorrow night, Wes. The benefit?" Buffy pleaded with Wesley with her eyes but he didn't relent. "I am sure that he cleans up nicely, Buffy. Everywhere."  
  
"Well, hope you like loud rock music and noisy clubs, cause that's where we'll be going Saturday, luv." Spike said.  
  
"We're going to a club? Do I have to watch you pick up?" Buffy whined. Spike rolled his eyes.  
  
"No. My band is playing. And what kind of thing is this tomorrow?" He asked, worried she would drag him to some weird PETA benefit or something; with paint covered furs or raising money to save a cow.  
  
"You can talk about it later. I'm canceling shooting for the rest of the day, seeing as how it is almost quit time anyway. You two don't have to be together tonight, but I expect you to be up and ready to go at eight o'clock."  
  
"8 a.m.? We can't even sleep in?" Buffy whined again.  
  
"This is work Buffy. Just because you aren't on set doesn't mean that you can slack off. We'll still be working, so you don't get to sleep in."  
  
"Oh, all right." Buffy grumbled. Two whole days with the bleached wonder and she couldn't even drown herself in sleep to escape it.  
  
"I am sending you two back to the hotel in the same car, because I don't want one of you getting up in the morning, springing something on the other. Tomorrow is your day, Buffy?"  
  
"Guess so."  
  
"And I've got Saturday." Spike finished for him.  
  
"Yes. Now, do you two think you can sit in the same car together without killing one another?" Wesley felt like a kindergarten teacher, working out a playground dispute. Spike lowered his cold pack, revealing a red, slightly swollen nose.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose so. Just as long as Xena here doesn't get punch happy again."  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"I promise I'll be good." Wesley dismissed the two actors and they headed for the door.  
  
"Uh, Spike?" Buffy asked nervously. *Please don't hate me forever. I really don't want to be the one girl you hate till the end of time. Plus, I can't enjoy your good looks if I know that I never had a chance cause you think I'm a massive bitch, which I am.*  
  
"Yeah?" He turned his head to look at her. * It's not like I didn't deserve that sock. I WAS a bastard. And these next two days might be what we need. If not, she's still easy on the eyes.*  
  
As they walked out of the room to go back to their respective trailers, Wesley heard her question. "Are you going to press assault charges against me?"  
  
"And let the world know what a tiny thing like you managed to bring me down? Not likely." Wesley smiled to himself, wondering if this experiment would work. If it did, he might get the same passion out of them for the scenes in which the characters did like each other, as they had when they didn't like each other.  
  
*Cause lord knows there's more there than straight hared for each other. They'll come back here on Sunday and be ok*, Wesley thought. *Or else I have just sent two people off with homicidal feelings toward each other to massacre themselves. Oh lord. * 


	7. False Starts

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Part 7: False Starts  
A/N- Again, great thanks to Miss Kitty for her wonderful beta work and for being so encouraging and supportive about my writing!! Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed and please KEEP REVIEWING!!! I only have 21 reviews for 6 chapters so KEEP THEM COMING!!!! *Begs the needy writer* More reviews mean faster chapters!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - - -  
  
"Well, it looks like we've muddied things up good now." Spike said softly as he and Buffy sat in the limo as it took them back to their hotel. Buffy was ready to snap at him, before she realized he had placed the blame on both of them, not just her. * Which was your problem to begin with, you twit. Calm down and listen for once and this may not have happened.*  
  
"Yeah, looks like." Buffy replied.  
  
"I don't like this anymore than you do, but if we have to do it, I am willing to give it a sporting chance. Don't really fancy being thrown out on my ass for my first movie, know what I mean?"  
  
"Yeah, I know. I don't want to get fired either. Even though it means spending two days with you."  
  
"Love you too, pet." Spike said sarcastically. Buffy felt her blood start to boil at his tone even though his words were exciting, but took a few deep breaths. *He may have decided to let that punch go earlier, but if I attack him in a limo I doubt it would go as well.*  
  
"Look, I think the only way we are going to get through the next two days is if we promise that we will be on our best behavior. I vow that I will try my best to be nice, and not bitchy and to be calm." Buffy made the first attempt at a clean start.  
  
"Yeah, that's only fair. I promise that I won't be a smart-ass or try to make you mad. It's just that it's so easy." He teased her.  
  
"Not good, Spike." Was her reply.  
  
"Right. No more pissing Buffy off. I'll be as good as good can be. We can do this Buffy. We're both grown adults, not five year olds. I won't pull your hair if you don't steal my toys, ok?" Spike made his own offer.  
  
"Something tells me I don't want your toys, Spike."  
  
"But they are so much fun." He raised his eyebrow suggestively, sticking the tip of his tongue out at her. Buffy felt her face flush and was grateful when the limo stopped at the hotel.  
  
"Thanks Jeff." Buffy called up to the driver and hopped out of the car quickly, leaving Spike to trail after her.  
  
They rode up in the elevator together, not making any conversation. When they got to her door he turned to look at her.  
  
"So what fiendish torture do you have in store for me, luv?" Spike was dreading what she would want to do tomorrow. If she had some kind of weird spa/sea-weed/mud pack day set up for them or something as equally as dumb he could make Saturday a living hell for her.  
  
"I'm not sure yet. I have that function tomorrow night, so I guess I would like to get something to wear for it, so how about starting with going to the boutiques? I know shopping probably isn't your idea of a good time, but-"  
  
"Actually, I wouldn't mind checking some stuff out. I need to get some things for myself anyway so this is ok. What time are we getting up?" *Shopping I can handle, shopping is ok. She can't try to beat me up if we're in a crowded store. Maybe she'll model some lingerie for me or something*. Spike thought but in a flash, regretted it. *Or not. Buffy plus lingerie equals bad. Burlap sack Buffy, now that's something.Gah, she's sexy in that too! Spike pulled his duster around him a little, as if were cold. Ok, getting kicked off the movie, falling off the stage while performing, my Da naked, Buffy naked- AGH!*  
  
Buffy was oblivious to Spike's discomfort however. "Ok, so how about an eight o'clock wake up call? Then we can eat and hit the shops." *At least in the shops I won't want to kill him as bad. Witnesses to murder aren't exactly cool. Maybe I'll let him stop in at a music shop or something, give him some fun tomorrow. Spike with a guitar, strutting around on stage, all hot and sweaty and.. BAD Buffy! But he'd look so good, with his hair curling from the sweat, and maybe he'd do the Elvis pelvis swivel and..GAH! All right, my tenth grade math teacher, cleaning the basement, my mom having sex, me having sex with Spike- oh shit.*  
  
"Ok, then. Eight o'clock?" Spike asked, as he backed away towards his own room. Buffy just nodded and escaped to her own rooms.  
  
Both blondes quickly slammed their doors and leaned against them, breathing a sigh of relief. *It's going to be a long two days*. They both thought.  
  
* * * * *  
  
*KNOCK* *RING* *KNOCK* *RING* *KNOCK* Buffy pounded on Spike's door and rang the bell at the same time at eight thirty the next morning. She had been up for an hour now, having showered and dressed, waiting for Spike to get up and come get her for breakfast. She had tried to call his room but only got a busy signal.  
  
"Spike! Get your lazy ass out of bed!" She yelled, not worried about waking the people in the other two suites, as they were empty for the moment. She heard some muffled cursing and thumping from inside. Finally the door swung open to reveal a low-slung, un-buttoned jeans clad Spike. His hair was sticking up everywhere, looking plain sexy, and he was wiping sleep from his eyes.  
  
"Whyouwan?" He muttered, not quite realizing what was happening.  
  
"It's eight thirty. Breakfast, shopping, not killing each other- remember? I called, were you on the phone?"  
  
"Buffy?" Spike was still half asleep as he tried to focus on her. She pushed her way into his suite and went to the kitchenette where he had a small one-shot coffee maker and complimentary coffee. She started to brew some before turning to the bleary eyed blond who had followed her.  
  
"Go to the shower, by the time you get out I will have caffeine for you." She put her hands on his chest and attempted to push him towards his room. His hands came up to cover hers, trapping them against his warm planes.  
  
"Good morning." He whispered down at her. His eyes were finally clear, and staring down at her, seriously.  
  
"Hi." Buffy managed to get out. She could feel his heart beating under her hand, and it was racing as fast as she could feel hers was. They just stared at each other for a while, not understanding what was going on, but knowing something should be happening.  
  
Spike started to lean down, ever so slightly, as Buffy just stared at him, waiting. Then the doorbell rang. The duo jumped apart, jolting their hearts faster than they were already pounding. Buffy turned back to the one-shot as Spike went to answer the door.  
  
"Sir, I was sent to see if you were alright? You had requested a seven thirty wake up call, but when we attempted to reach you by phone all we got was a busy signal." A hotel employee was standing at the door.  
  
"Yeah, um, sorry about that. Not quite the morning person." Spike explained, remembering shoving his phone to the floor when it rang earlier that morning. He grabbed some money off the table by the door to tip the man and sent him on his way.  
  
"So you'll have that coffee ready for me, luv?" Spike asked hurriedly as he beat a quick path to his room.  
  
"Yes, coffee..um, ready. it will be." Buffy stammered out, looking at the perfect expanse of back that walked away from her, into his room. She heard the bathroom door shut and breathed out a sigh of relief.  
  
*Maybe me killing Spike shouldn't be my only concern.*  
  
Spike leaned back against the bathroom door. *Oh shit. This can't be good. Although, I have always wondered if fighters make the best lovers.*  
  
* * * * *  
  
Later in the day, Spike was wondering what would be the best way to yell fire and not get caught. He had been sitting in chairs ALL morning and early afternoon, surrounded by her many purchases, after they had left to shop, watching Buffy try out outfit after outfit. She must have had tried on at least seventy-five different ensembles, pairs of shoes, earrings and she was still going strong while he was ready to drill a hole in his head. He knew they were supposed to spend the time together so they could come to like each other, or at the very least, not have a burning hatred for each other but how was that supposed to be accomplished when she spent all of her time in a dressing room?  
  
That could be a blessing though, because it kept them from talking about what didn't but almost happened in his hotel suite this morning. She had showed up at his door like a vision, and then they had almost kissed and that may have led to worse things. Or better, and he smirked to himself. Course, nothing would be happening now if Buffy didn't get her ass out of the damn stores. It was already quarter to three in the afternoon. They had been shopping since ten, as it had taken that long for him to shower, dress and then to eat.  
  
He still wasn't sure where she was taking him tonight, as he hadn't had time to ask. He didn't know if this was her way of avoiding him but if it was, it was damn good. He actually wanted to get to know her better. His opinion of her had sunk a great deal when she had thrown his past in his face almost a month ago, but since then his curiosity had started to get the best of him. Especially since she could get him riled up better than anyone else. Make his blood boil, his toes curl and his cock stand to attention all at the same time, just by throwing an insult, or flipping her hair in that snotty way she did. He knew that he was under her skin, just from the way that she had reacted this morning. Could two people with such a strong dislike for each other be so strongly attracted to each other? Of course. But could that dislike be turned into something more, something warmer, or longer lasting? He would have to get her alone long enough to find out, first. He hoped that tonight would be a good opportunity.  
  
"Spike?" He snapped to attention as she walked out of the dressing room. He had seen her try on a lot of things today, but this was the one. She was on the hunt for the perfect dress for tonight's function. If it were up to him this would be it. It was a true red, halter style dress that dipped low enough to show the curves of her cleavage, stopped just below the knee and would flare out like a swing-style dress if they were to dance. "What do you think?"  
  
"Uh," He started, trying to sound cool and collected. He gave up, partly out of frustration and partly out of desire. "Luv, I'm not just saying this because I am bored out of my skull, but this is it. This is the one. You look beautiful."  
  
Buffy flushed almost as red as the dress and turned back to the dressing room to take it off. "I think it's the one too."  
  
*Good lord in heaven, FINALLY!* His mind screamed. Not only could he not handle looking at her in skimpy little dresses anymore but he was starved, along with being deathly bored. A couple of minutes later Buffy walked out of the dressing room, to the cashier, leaving Spike to follow with the rest of her bags.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy had insisted that they go back to the hotel to eat so that she would not miss time getting ready. When they sat down at a table for two after going through the buffet that was set up, Spike sighed in exhaustion and slumped in his chair. Buffy giggled at his overly dramatic show of letting his head fall to the table and hearing fake snores coming from him.  
  
"Oh, it wasn't that bad, you big baby." She pushed at his head lightly.  
  
"I know. It could have been worse. You could have decided you wanted to walk over hot coals today."  
  
"Yeah, I could have." Buffy said thoughtfully. "But then you wouldn't have been able to come with me tonight."  
  
"Right, so where ARE we going, pet? You dragged me all over half of LA looking for a damn dress to this thing, don't I get to know what it is?" Spike started attacking his plate of food ravenously, remembering how hungry he was.  
  
"It's a charity event to raise money for battered women's shelters and educational programs for schools about relationship abuse."  
  
"Great, so we're going to go look at wife beaters and their victims?" Spike asked, sarcastically. "Should be a fun night."  
  
"No. There is a silent auction, as well as a bachelor/bachelorette auction. There will be a mini-casino for fun and some karaoke. It's a fun night to raise money for a serious topic." Buffy glared at his dismissive tone.  
  
"Nothing like celebrating relationship abuse with a roulette wheel, eh?" Spike tried to make a joke but realized he had failed when he saw Buffy's look. "What? It'll be fun. Go raise some money, feel good for the night."  
  
"Feel good?" Buffy asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, yeah. We did a good deed, helped out. This is just your community service, isn't it?" Buffy shook her head in confusion.  
  
"Community service?"  
  
"You know, a celebrity takes on a cause to promote their public image, show they they're well rounded and concerned." Spike told her.  
  
"I didn't realize that that was all these functions and organizations were to other people, but I can guarantee that I am taking this very seriously." Buffy bit out, eyes flashing.  
  
"Sorry, didn't think it was such a big deal. You don't have to go all postal on me. We'll go to your little auction and have a good time, raise some money, help out, ok?" Spike didn't see what was bothering her so much. "I know that some people are very passionate about their causes, you just didn't seem like one."  
  
"Why? Because I'm blonde and ditzy? Do I not seem like I can care about other people? Or is that just your self-projection on to other people?" Buffy was steaming mad now, at the thought that he didn't see her as 'passionate' about anything.  
  
"Hey now, don't play dirty. I didn't mean anything by it."  
  
"No, you never do, do you, Spike?"  
  
"Whatever Barbie." Just then Buffy's cell phone rang and she snatched it up angrily.  
  
"What?" She snarled.  
  
"Ok, so I take it things aren't going as they should be?" Wesley asked.  
  
"They were fine until the bleached wonder put his foot in his mouth again."  
  
"I'd rather put it in yours, you bint."  
  
"Fuck off, Spike."  
  
"Hey, hey. Calm down, ok? You still have your event to go to tonight, and he needs to be on one piece. Just breathe Buffy. How has your day been so far?" Wesley asked, trying to bring her down.  
  
"It was ok. We shopped so we didn't have to talk much."  
  
"Well, that's a start I guess. I'm have to go now, are you going to be all right with him? No fists flying and all that?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said shortly, glaring at Spike, who glared back. "Everything will be fine." She hung up the phone and stood. "Be ready by seven." And she walked out, leaving Spike wondering where things went wrong. 


	8. Friday’s Child is Loving and Giving

A/N: Mad props to my lovely, wonderful beta Miss Kitty! Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed thus far, especially those who have taken time to write detailed reviews cause they really help me form further ideas. I'm working on part 14 right now so there's a lot more to come! KEEP REVIEWING!!!!  
  
At seven o'clock, sharp just as Buffy had said, his doorbell rang. He finished tying his tie as he walked to the door to let her in. When he got there his breath caught in his throat. She was a vision. It had been hard for him to look at her this afternoon when she was only in the dress, but now with her hair done up in big springy curls and her makeup put on softly, she looked amazing. A wrap covered her shoulders as it was halfway into November, and she carried a small black clutch.  
  
Buffy just stared at Spike, wondering how he could go from a cocky, rough looking rocker to the smooth, suave man standing in front of her. She had cooled off since their spat that afternoon, but she was getting hot again, looking at him. He was wearing dark gray pants with pinstripes through the fabric and an amazing blue shirt and tie combination that made his eyes pop out of his face. The blue was that dark electric blue during dusk that a person could only see in the fading seconds before night fell completely.  
  
She snapped out of her trance and asked him: "Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes, just a second." He walked into his room, smiling slightly at the response he had gotten from her. He put on his suit jacket and put his wallet, cigarettes and lighter in the front pocket.  
  
"There is a car waiting for us down stairs." Those were the last words she said to him the entire way to the charity event. He knew that things had gone less than well at dinner this afternoon, but he didn't know what had set her off. He had to get to the bottom of this or else they would never stop fighting.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Ah, Miss. Summers, so nice to see you. You brought a date this time, so nice!" A woman in a sequined dress greeted Buffy as soon as they arrived at the banquet hall. It was the type of place that business executive had fancy meetings in, in the center of the city.  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Jacobson. It's nice to see you as well. This is Sp- er, William Giles. You may have heard of his musical group, "Band of Buggered"?" Buffy introduced Spike warmly, but Spike heard the sharp way she said his name.  
  
"Mr. Giles," Mrs. Jacobson had a confused look on her face at the name of the band, but brushed it off. "Very nice to meet you, I believe you are very popular with my daughter. It's exciting to have you two here. Perhaps we will get some better publicity and more funding for the shelters."  
  
"I hope so, Mrs. Jacobson. That's why I'm here. We'll see you later, ok?" She waved to her as she led Spike away. They walked to the coat check so she could leave her wrap there.  
  
"So you aren't trying to be more of a celebrity by coming to these things, you use your celebrity *for* them." Spike commented.  
  
"If anyone with half a name would lend their time and rep to a good cause there may be far fewer problems in the world now." Buffy told him, putting her coat check tag into her clutch.  
  
"I suppose. But then it wouldn't be cool to help those less fortunate." Spike tried to tease her, but she didn't take the bait, just looked at him with a slightly sad look in her eyes. *What is it about this that makes her look like her dog died?*  
  
"So what do you want to do first? The silent auction is already going on, in the next room, and it won't be till nine that the bachelor/bachelorette auction starts."  
  
"Well, I'm always up for a spot of gambling, how about craps?" Spike led her over to the long table set up. "How does this work?"  
  
"You have to pay in to get chips, then you play with those. If you win you get a small prize, like an engraved pen or gift certificates for massages, things like that." Buffy explained, standing back a little as he stepped up to the table.  
  
"Sounds good." He gave the table manager his money and got chips in return. He waited a couple turns before he made his first bet. He looked for Buffy as the dice were rolled and saw her standing behind him slightly, biting her lip. She had that sad look on her face again and his heart went out to her. He leaned back and grabbed her arm, bringing her closer. He lost his bet, and he placed again, watching the man roll the dice.  
  
"Seven, the man in the blue wins." The table manager called out. Spike smiled and doubled his bet.  
  
"I think you might be my good luck charm!" He told Buffy. She relaxed a little and watched him play some more. When he took his turn rolling the dice he got her to blow on them, his fingers tingling a little as her cool breath washed over them. Spike played for almost an hour, and Buffy watched, getting more excited as he kept winning. Finally he decided it was time to try a different game.  
  
"Where do you want to go, luv? I'll spot you some chips." He had cashed in some of what he had won for a gorgeous engraved ballpoint pen, with the name of the primary donator to the event on it.  
  
"How about blackjack?" Buffy pointed to a table across the room. Spike groaned inwardly. He wasn't good at that game at all.  
  
"I'll have to be your good luck charm then, cause I'm not good at it." Buffy led him over and perched on one of the high chairs.  
  
"Does the lady want dealt in?" The dealer asked her. Spike gave her some chips and she placed her bet. He watched her as she shifted into an impenetrable card-game face. What he had done at the craps table she was doing here with blackjack.  
  
"Remind me to never play poker with you. I think you may be able to wipe the floor with me." He rumbled into her ear. "Course, depending on what kind of poker we would play, I might make an exception."  
  
Buffy shivered slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by him, and she tried to concentrate on the game. She won a couple more hands and cashed in her chips for a free dinner at a great restaurant in LA.  
  
"This is really fun, luv. And I'm helping out. I like that." Spike said, lightly, hoping to keep things upbeat.  
  
"I'm glad. I was worried that you would be bored."  
  
"Nah. I've got to stay on my toes in case you try to clock me again, how can I be bored?" Spike rubbed his still sore nose and smiled at her.  
  
Buffy winced. "Again, sorry about that. That was so *very* not cool. Hit you, and then come to a benefit on relationship abuse. What a great representative I am."  
  
"Hey, I deserved it. I was an ass." Spike assured her, but it didn't help alleviate the guilt that she felt.  
  
"No one deserves to be hit." Buffy told him softly, looking up at him with wide, pained eyes. Spike opened his mouth to try to get her to open up to him but Mrs. Jaconson interrupted him.  
  
"Buffy, the bachelor/bacehlorette auction is starting in a few minutes, you have to come line up!" The woman told her.  
  
"I'll be right there." She told her and she ran off to get things ready.  
  
"Wait, you're *in* this auction thing? What am I supposed to do?" Spike asked her.  
  
"Sit, watch the auction, bid on someone. Everyone comes equipped with a picnic dinner for two, which is the food portion of this benefit. I should have told you sooner, but I was having too much fun."  
  
"So you're going to go up there and someone from the audience is going to bid money for. your goodie basket?" Spike swallowed hard, a wave of jealousy shooting through him.  
  
"Pretty much. All those guys are going to be oogling my 'goodies.'" She laughed, teasing him. "I have to go, ok? It's not like I'm leaving you for the night anyway, just for dinner and then I'll be back. Oh, and can you hold my purse while I'm up there? Wes might call, so answer my phone."  
  
Buffy ran off without giving him a chance to object. He watched the red-clad girl hurry off, noticing a few other guys eye her appreciatively as well.  
  
*Look all you want you sodding poofs, but you won't be getting into her goodie basket*. Spike fumed, then looked down at the purse he was holding and groaned to himself. *Who's the poof now?*  
  
* * * * *  
  
Spike shifted uncomfortably in his chair, waiting for Buffy to come on stage to be auctioned off. It had already been a half hour and he was getting antsy. Men and women stepped on and off the stage, being sent off to eat with the highest bidder. *I really don't like this. Bloody hell, this is a benefit for women's abuse shelters, not a place to auction off innocent girls to potential freaks*.  
  
"Sold to the dashing man in the Armani suit!" Mrs. Jacobson was running the auction and pounded her gavel on the podium. "Next up," she started at the previous auctioned off person left the stage on the arm of his winning bidder. "Is tasty dish of sweet and sexy. Buffy Summers is a 23 year old actress. She has starred in her own TV show, and is currently filming the soon- to- be blockbuster movie, 'Thief'!"  
  
Buffy appeared on the stage holding a large picnic basket in her arms. The lights from the stage hit her in such a way that her hair looked like spun gold and the red dress made her golden tan shine. She stood with one hand on her hip, as if daring the crowd to pay enough for her.  
  
"Lets open the bidding at seventy-five, who's to bid that?" Mrs. Jacobson called.  
  
"Seventy-five." A man on the other side of the room called out, causing Spike to grit his teeth.  
  
"One hundred." Came another voice from the back.  
  
"One-fifty." Piped up a third voice.  
  
"Two-fifty." The first man countered.  
  
"Three." The man from the back shouted.  
  
"Four." The second man threw in.  
  
Buffy just stood on the stage with a smile on her face, watching the exchange.  
  
"Five hundred." The first man put in. The second man put his hands up, defeated.  
  
"Five-fifty." The guy in the back wouldn't give up.  
  
"Six."  
  
"Six-fifty."  
  
"Seven."  
  
"Seven-fifty."  
  
"Eight." The man in the back paused for a second, but didn't put in another bid, leaving it to the first man across the room. Buffy gave him a wide smile, but he could see through it. She would be nice enough to him but she didn't really want to hang around with a stranger.  
  
"All right, eight hundred, going-" Mrs. Jacobson started.  
  
"Fifteen hundred." Spike called out, loudly. The room fell to a dead silence before bursting into a buzz. Mrs. Jacobson looked to the first man, but he simply shook his head and bowed ever so slightly in submission to Spike.  
  
"Sold, to the very handsome man in the blue." Mrs. Jacobson announced still in shock, as this was the most an auction had ever got them. Buffy looked just as surprised, standing on stage staring at him. He stood and walked to the stairs of the stage where she would greet him.  
  
"Ready for dinner, luv?" Spike took the picnic basket from her and kissed her hand. "I'm starved." He grinned wolfishly at her as he led her away from the stage and the other men who had bid on her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Is this good?" Buffy asked as she led Spike out to the lobby. She pointed to a corner, protected by some chairs and potted trees and he nodded. They pushed the coffee table out of the circle of chairs and spread the blanket that came with the picnic meal to sit on.  
  
"Lets see what we have here." Spike smiled at her as he opened the basket after they settled themselves. Buffy hadn't said anything since he had led her away from the stage and he wondered if she was mad at him.  
  
"Wow, they certainly do put on a spread, don't they? Caviar, lobster, champagne, Brie, a salad, some gourmet chocolate cake, strawberries, candles." Spike trailed off, seeing the look on her face. "Wha'?"  
  
"Why did you do that?"  
  
"Why'd I do what?"  
  
"Pay that much money for me?"  
  
"Felt like doing my part. Plus, I wanted to see what was in your goodie basket." Spike smirked at her, but she didn't smile back.  
  
"If you want to save this, take the food home, you can. You can share it with someone else." Buffy offered, not meeting his eyes.  
  
"Why would I do that? I paid for a dinner with you, luv. Plus we have to spend 'every minute' together, remember? Director's orders. And I have to say, I wouldn't mind getting to know you some more and what better way then by candle light and chocolate cake?" Spike started setting the food out between them and lit the candles with his cigarette lighter. They set off a soft glow in the semi-darkened corner they were in. "Don't you agree?"  
  
"I suppose." She replied, in a non-committal way. They started to eat but Spike wouldn't let her off that easily. He knew that she was trying to avoid talking with him. There was something more there that he wanted to get to the bottom of.  
  
Buffy ate her food slowly, hoping to savor every mouthful, as well as delay him from asking her questions. She had been feeling nervous ever since their spat this afternoon. This event and charity was important to her and she had wanted him to know just how important it was, but she wasn't sure he would understand now. He had thought she was using this opportunity to increase her celebrity, which couldn't have been farther from the truth. She was letting a complete stranger into her world and he didn't even know it. She knew he was going to try to find out as much about her as possible but she wasn't sure if she was ready. She knew that it would come out sooner or later and she should talk about it, work through it, but she didn't know if she was ready yet.  
  
"So," Spike started, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Who is Buffy Summers?"  
  
"Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius?" She offered.  
  
"Ah, a January baby. but not what I was thinking. I was hoping to find some skeletons in your closet." He watched her carefully and noticed her blink at that comment.  
  
"Nope, skeleton free here." Buffy smiled and reached for a strawberry. "These are good berries, aren't they?"  
  
"The best. So how does a fist swinging, astrologically confused, hot tempered girl like yourself get into show business?" He watched Buffy eat her strawberry and sigh before she answered.  
  
"Well, I was always into performing. You know, singing, dancing, and being in plays- stuff like that. I got a couple commercials when I was a kid, which went towards my college fund. Mom and Dad knew I wanted to have my name in lights, but they weren't pushy stage parents, or stupid. High school came and went and I had a couple bit parts on TV shows and a few more commercials but nothing big. I went off to university, not expecting anything to come of my attempts. I joined the drama club and somehow landed myself the lead role in a play that a student was producing. The guy who directed 'Demon Hunter' was there and offered me an audition. The rest is history."  
  
"Short and sweet. How about-"  
  
"What about you?" Buffy cut him off. She knew that they had to start getting along, and that entailed getting to know each other but she was worried about it. She was already attracted to him and that was after feeling intense dislike towards him. What if she got to know him and started to like him more? She hadn't had the best luck with men and soon he would know that since he was so intent on pushing to know her every corner and cranny of herself. She didn't know if she was ready to let someone in to that area of her life yet though. Of course, it had one been since today that they'd been able to have a civil conversation without fighting or beating each other up, so maybe she was worrying for nothing. Also there was her goal to be an independent woman from now on. On one hand her mind told her she didn't need a man to do anything in life, Angel had proved that. But her heart, and loins, were screaming *he's hot, he's talking to you - DON'T blow it! He was right; Angel was a bastard with nasty gelled hair. Forget him and move on!*  
  
"Nah, ah, pet. I'm not done with you yet." Buffy leaned back against a chair and resigned herself to the fact that he wouldn't let her away that easy. He grinned at her. "Ok then. What's your middle name?"  
  
"Anne."  
  
"Any brothers or sisters?"  
  
"A younger sister named Dawn."  
  
"Favorite color?"  
  
"Blue." Buffy bit the inside of her cheek on that one because she saw him open his eyes just a little wider, letting her see his gorgeous eyes better.  
  
"First kiss's name?"  
  
"Brett."  
  
"How old were you?"  
  
"Seven."  
  
"Started young, didn't you?"  
  
"Probably no younger than you."  
  
"Nah, I was a nerd when I was younger." He plowed on before she could say anything. "Favorite movie?"  
  
"Anything from the Molly Ringwald oeuvre."  
  
"Ever been to Disney World?"  
  
"Nope, Disney Land though."  
  
"Why is this charity so important to you?"  
  
Buffy froze at this question, then took a deep breath. "So now we're getting into it, eh?"  
  
"I just want to know you more Buffy. I want to know why you hold this charity so dear to you, why you have looked so sad tonight, why I almost became your punching bag over a comment this afternoon."  
  
"Ok. Um, well I just want to start out by saying that I have never used this charity to help me. I could never exploit helpless people that way."  
  
"I know, luv, you explained that to me." He had a feeling he knew what she would tell him but it would mean more to him if she told him.  
  
"I got involved with this charity four years ago. I wanted to help raise money for battered women and make sure that they had a place to go, to escape from the hell they were in." Buffy sighed, looking at Spike. He nodded at her, encouraging her. "During my freshman year of university I was overwhelmed. The campus was huge, I had large classes, the profs were tough and hard and I hated my roommate. My friends had all gone to different places except for one, Willow, my manager, but she had her own thing going on. So I was on my own.  
  
"I met this guy. Parker Abrhams. He was a sophomore; funny, cute and he wanted to help me out. I had heard all about the guys at university, how they were faster and wanted fast women so I wasn't about to let him get into my pants that easily. He asked me out for coffee one day and I set him straight to make sure his intentions were honorable. He laughed at me. He said that he thought I was pretty and just wanted to get to know me. Plus he remembered what it was like to be a freshman and alone on the campus, felt like he should lend a hand to someone in need. So I relaxed and we went out. We dated for a couple of months and I got more and more wrapped up in him. Finally, the big night came.  
  
"It was- well," Buffy started to blush not knowing how much to explain or how. Spike reached over the food to pat her hand.  
  
"You don't have to do this, luv."  
  
"No, I feel I sort of owe you an explanation as to my behavior today. It's not fair to you to drag you here and expect you to be a mind reader." She started again. "It wasn't my first time so I knew what to expect but it wasn't the best thing I had ever had. I figured there was room for improvement as we had just gotten together. After that night things changed. For the worse. He was still nice to me, sweet even. But he had these moments of horrible possessiveness and rage. He would scream at me for small things, like not having called him at the right time. This went on for about a week before I said something back. Then he gave me something to talk about."  
  
"He hit you?" Spike ground out.  
  
"Right across the cheek. Had a nice bruise there. But it shut me up. Things were fine for another week. We had sex again, and it was no better for me, but he seemed to enjoy it a lot. I tried to talk to him about it, perhaps slowing down with the sex. He shook me that time, getting smart to not leaving visible bruises. He shook me so hard that I had whiplash and he slammed me into the desk and cracked my tailbone."  
  
"What were you telling people when they asked what was wrong?" Spike asked, incredulous. No matter how many times he heard these stories they never failed to amaze him how submissive the women were. Buffy's story really shocked him because she had to be the least submissive person he knew.  
  
"You know what? I don't even remember. They were stupid, transparent things that any moron could see through, even me. But I didn't. Parker had my eyes veiled with his 'love'. People don't even realize that it's not the love that keeps them there. It's like being brainwashed. He was all I had, all I knew, and everything I couldn't live without. He could have told me to do anything and I would have done it. It's not the physical abuse that hurts- it's the mental and emotional, never knowing what he'll do next." Buffy smiled sadly. "That happens to a lot of girls."  
  
"How much longer did it go on for?" Spike wanted to hear the whole thing, wanted to know how tortured he needed to bastard when he killed him. He felt hatred for any abuser, but the fact that it was Buffy made his anger ten times worse and he didn't even know why.  
  
"Another month but he only hit me one more time. Third time's the charm, you know? He shoved me against the back of his door, head first and cracked the mirror, which cut my forehead. Then he tried to have sex with me, while I was bleeding. I kicked him between his legs as hard as I could and ran. Maybe it was seeing my own blood, or seeing me looking back at myself in the mirror or that almost tried to rape me, but something snapped in me. I ran back to residence and locked myself in my room for three days. I even kicked my roommate out. Willow had to get an RA to unlock the door. The bruises had faded some by then, and the gash on my head had started to heal, but I was a mess. I hadn't eaten, slept, bathed. My grades were slipping, I was on the edge of a breakdown." Buffy trailed off with tears in her eyes. Spike didn't say anything, only waited for her to go on.  
  
"He tried to get me back. He called, left letters, emailed me, even tried to talk to Willow about me. I didn't want to go to the police because it was my word against his and I didn't have proof. The chicken's way out, I guess, but it's hard. No one knows how hard it is. I was moved out of my room, into a single near Willow. I started going to counseling provided by the university and I had the residence ban Parker from it."  
  
"That's why you freaked out when I grabbed your arm by the pool?" Spike asked, softly. "And why you were Xena-esque when we ran into each other in the hallways?"  
  
"One of the reasons. I also thought you were a psychotic asshole." Buffy smiled.  
  
"Well, as long as I was only insane." He smiled back at her, both relieved and disheartened by her story. "I'm sorry you had to bring me here."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I was such a bastard about it. I know it's hard for you to tell me this. But I appreciate it. It certainly changes the opinion I had of you that you were an air-head bitch." He told her teasingly. " I admire you for wanting to stand up for what happened to you, for using it to help others."  
  
"If I can get even one girl out of a bad relationship, I'll feel wonderful." Buffy said truthfully.  
  
"But you already have." He replied, taking her hand. Buffy cocked her head at him. "You got yourself out."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Things aren't going to be weird now, are they?" Spike asked her as they rode the elevator to the floor together.  
  
"Why would they?" Buffy asked him.  
  
"I don't know. Things got heavy, I feel kind of responsible, you told me stuff. I just don't want there to be any bad feelings or regret or anything."  
  
"This sounds like a really bad morning after speech." Buffy joked as they stepped off the lift together.  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"Yeah, I do. Things aren't going to be weird. At least not on my part. I was glad you came. It smashed a few misconceptions you had, and it helped me through a little victim's guilt I still carry around. Talking about it helps. You listened, and that's more than you'll ever know. Plus we had a nice conversation without wanting to torture each other. We may even be on our way to being *gasp* friends." She laughed at him as they reached her door.  
  
"So tomorrow is my big day, eh?" Spike leaned against the wall, watching her as she took her card-key out of her clutch.  
  
"Yup. Hope you have something good planned."  
  
"Tomorrow night I my band is playing at a club in town, so we have to go meet up with the guys in the afternoon to get ready. Other than that I don't know. Any suggestions?"  
  
"Anything that doesn't involve me revealing some deep, dark secrets."  
  
"Uh, oh. I guess this means I'm up to bat, eh, luv?"  
  
"Yes it does. I'm going to find out who William Giles really is." She laughed as he scrunched his nose up at that name. "But not until tomorrow."  
  
"I guess this is goodnight?"  
  
"I think so. God only knows what you'll come up with us for tomorrow so I need my beauty sleep. Tonight was fun though. I liked talking with you."  
  
"And I with you, luv. This is a good start. Tomorrow will be better." He took her hand and kissed the back, sending shivers up Buffy's body. "Until then."  
  
"Goodnight." Buffy opened her door and ducked in her room, watching him in the hallway, staring back at her as she closed the door. 


	9. One Good Day

*~*~*~*~*~*~* Part 9: One Good Day  
See Part 1 for disclaimer, rating, summary, etc.  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!  
A/N: Great thanks to Magz for betaing this chap for me on such short notice. You rock my world! And it would be nice to see some nice smutty goodness for inspiration soon, eh? *wink, nudge* Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and been so supportive and nice and wonderful. I'm trying to get as much written as possible and I want to get two more chaps posted before next week as I am taking a summer course so I don't know how often I will be posting. It's only for 5 weeks though and I DO have internet access, as well I will be home quite often I imagine. I just have to get over the little curse known as Writer's Block first. I have written up to part 15 though, so there isn't any worry of chaps running out anytime soon. Keep reviewing and I'll keep the chapters coming!!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Wha'?" Buffy mumbled into the phone.  
  
"Do I have to come make coffee for you this morning, luv?" Spike's voice rumbled over the line at her. Buffy sat straight up in bed and looked at the clock.  
  
"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.  
  
"It's only eight. I just wanted to start the day off on the right foot."  
  
"Waking me up this early in the morning is not the best way to get me to like you, just so you know." Buffy got out of bed and stretched, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder.  
  
"I'll remember that then." He chuckled at her, the sound sending shivers down to her toes. He could read her the phone book and sound sexy. No wonder he was so popular with the ladies.  
  
"What do you have planned for today? Something fiendishly torturous?"  
  
"Actually, I don't have anything really pressing to do before this afternoon, like I said last night, so I was thinking we could just hang out by the pool, maybe go over lines? It'll be the closest thing we get to resting for the next week before we have to go back to work."  
  
"Sounds good to me. But I need breakfast first, and then I need an hour's wait."  
  
"Ah, a rule follower, are you? C'mon, be bad for once."  
  
"Like you?"  
  
"What can I tell you baby? I've always been bad." She could hear his smirk at that and grinned at that.  
  
"I'm sure you have been. Give me a few minutes to throw my suit on and brush my teeth."  
  
"Alright then. I'll go downstairs and snag us a table then, unless you want me to wait."  
  
"I'll be fine Spike."  
  
"I just don't want you to run into any more dashing young men with arrestingly good looks on your way down."  
  
"I don't think I've run into any to begin with." Buffy replied innocently. He growled at her, causing her to giggle.  
  
"I'll be waiting for you. Hurry, pet."  
  
Buffy laughed again as she hung up the phone. He wasn't as bad as she had built him up to be and she was happy at that. He was annoyingly persistent and could be very frustrating, but after last night she was much more open to him and his ways. She supposed that it had been easier to talk to him because she didn't know him well. Yet, anyway. She hoped to change that today. She owed him that much after accusing him of being a whoring loadie.  
  
She didn't bother to shower or wash her hair since they would be getting into the pool soon, so she just ran a brush through her tangled curls left over from the night before and threw shorts and a tee over her bathing suit. She grabbed her towel, cell phone and card key after she brushed her teeth and left the room.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"You know, for someone so tiny you sure do eat a lot." Spike commented as Buffy brought her plate to the table.  
  
"I'm still a growing girl. And I have to keep up my strength to join in on your escapades of the day, don't I?" Buffy shot back, digging into her scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, waffles, croissant and juice.  
  
"Could be. To be perfectly honest with you, pet, today might be painfully boring."  
  
"What? A day with the legendary Spike Giles boring? How could that be?" Buffy asked.  
  
"It'd just like being on set, luv. All that work for five minutes of film. Not to mention that the legends usually come out of one wild night and some loud mouths that like to stretch the truth."  
  
"So, is that where the drug stories come from?" Buffy asked quietly, praying not to start a fight. Spike just looked at her, not flinching or shying away from her questioning.  
  
"No, a lot of that stuff is true."  
  
"So you are on drugs?" Buffy's brow furrowed.  
  
"Hardly." Spike snorted. "I have been clean for about four years now. But the image still hounds me, probably will till my dying day. When you're a big, bad rock star you have to have some kind of flaw. Apparently I'm still doing lines in between sets and trading groupies for drugs. You should know how it works by now, or you will soon, at least."  
  
"Seriously?" Buffy gaped at him. "That's terrible. I guess I've never been attacked to know what it's like. I am so sorry."  
  
"For what? You only believed what is out there for everyone to know. Its that image that you just can't shake. Or like that saying: 'Once a cheater, always a cheater.' Once an addict, always an addict."  
  
"That's terrible. And I helped to perpetuate the stereotype. I feel awful. I said nasty things to you and that isn't right." Buffy felt absolutely horrid when she remembered what she'd said to him by the pool a month earlier.  
  
"Don't. You realize your mistake, and that's cool. I admit, I had misconceptions about you too, so it's not like I'm innocent in this either. We've called a truce, putting to rest all of the past indiscretions we had, right?" Spike didn't want her to feel bad for believing what she found on him. She had apologized and had given him another chance. She'd shared one of her closest secrets with him last night, this was nothing compared to that. He wanted to do right by this girl, he realized.  
  
"Yes, we have a truce. But I'm sorry for what I said and thought and for what I believed. I should have asked you about it, and that's what matters. From now on, there will be honesty if we want to ask each other something, alright?" The tightness in Buffy's chest lifted some when Spike nodded and offered his hand to seal the deal. She knew how bad it felt to have someone judge her before they even took the chance to get to know her, so why had she been so adamant in doing it to him? *You're attracted to him, and that scares you. You don't want to let anyone near you again for fear of getting hurt. That is why you struck out at him.* Her mind taunted at her, dredging up her third year psych classes to use against herself.  
  
"Sounds good to me, pet. Now eat up. We have a private pool party to attend."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Crap. I didn't bring my script. Do you mind if I run upstairs and grab mine?" Buffy asked as they walked out of the dining room. Spike had on a simple tee shirt and black swim trunks with flip-flops. He threw his towel over his shoulder and held up his copy of the script.  
  
"Got one right here. We should know tomorrow's lines well enough that we don't need it anyway."  
  
"You're right. Ok then."  
  
This early in the morning on a Saturday there weren't any other people by the pool, so they could practice their lines in quiet, not having to worry about bothering others.  
  
Spike stripped off his shirt right away, causing Buffy's mouth to go dry, and jumped in the pool after throwing his stuff on a lounge chair. Buffy just stood and looked at him, still holding her things in her hands. He surfaced, slicking his blonde hair back, and looked at her.  
  
"You're not just going to stand there all day, are you? What better place to practice lines than in a pool?" Buffy snapped out of her stupor and set her things down on the chair next to his. She felt his eyes on her as she peeled her shirt off, followed by the shorts. She had chosen to wear a modest two piece, black bathing suit so as not to get embarrassed if something were to slip or move. She wasn't much of an exhibitionist anyway when it came to wearing skimpy clothing. The way Spike was looking at her when she turned around however made her feel as is she was naked. She quickly climbed into the pool using the stairs.  
  
"Alright, I'm in. Lets get it on." Her cheeks reddened as he grinned devilishly at her.  
  
"If you say so, luv." He started to swim towards her, but Buffy ducked under the water and swam away from his approaching form, moving for the deeper end of the pool. She broke the water there with a splash and flung her long hair back, sending a wave of droplets towards the wall behind her. Spike felt his lower half harden as he watched her, the words 'siren' and 'mermaid' coming to mind. He was very grateful that he was underwater at that moment.  
  
"Lets run lines." Buffy called, treading water about ten feet away from him. He frowned at her.  
  
"Now, luv, if we're going to do this we might as well do it right. Come down here and we'll start. I won't bite. Unless you ask." He added as an afterthought, which earned a shake of her head, but she swam to him nevertheless.  
  
"No funny business, buster." She sat on the bottom few stairs in the pool, which let her upper shoulders be visible, but nothing else. She could feel her nipples harden as he swam closer to her to start rehearsing and was thankful that they were under water.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it." He smirked at her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"You don't seem to get this, do you? There won't *be* any money to give you unless we find my partner. And we can't do that unless you stop being a big baby and drive the damn car."  
  
"I *can't* drive the car, and you know it. I'm a wanted car thief, in case you've forgotten."  
  
"And I'm the one with the gun! Who's got who by the balls now?" Buffy practically spat at Spike, her eyes flashing at him. Being in character and arguing got her almost as hot and bothered as being herself and arguing with Spike. Course, she would never admit that to him.  
  
"I don't care! Shoot me, it's not like I don't have dirt on you when the cops come to get me!" Spike yelled back, glad that no one had shown up to swim yet, as they would think they were having a very weird conversation.  
  
"Whatever." Buffy was supposed to walk away then, but her sitting position on the stairs made that difficult. Nevertheless Spike reached out and grabbed her arm as his character was supposed to.  
  
"I'm not letting you get off that easily." Spike floated closer, coming within centimeters of her face. Buffy looked up at him, a little shocked, but curious. Her lips parted and her tongue wet them. Then she clued in to what was going on.  
  
"Spike? What are you doing?"  
  
"Running lines with you."  
  
"This isn't a line."  
  
"No, but we have to do this tomorrow anyway. We might as well practice so that we know what we're doing."  
  
"I think I know how to kiss a guy, Spike. I *have* had boyfriends, as you recall."  
  
"Yeah, but have any of them *really* kissed you? Made your toes curl and your blood boil? Made you want to scream so loudly from want and need that you'd wake up the neighbors and then kiss you past caring about it?" He edged even closer so he was almost talking against her mouth.  
  
"This isn't in the script." Buffy whispered at him, her breath quickening, waiting for that mind-blowing kiss he promised.  
  
"But this is." He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. The sensation was so intense he saw colors behind his eyelids. Her lips were so soft, and her breath so hot. He urged her lips apart a little more and touched his tongue to her bottom lip, waiting for what she would do next.  
  
Buffy fell into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She hadn't even bothered to resist in the least, wanting this and knowing it would have happened inevitably anyway. There was too much spark between them to be ignored. Being so close to him, in the water, running lines and arguing in character had ignited the spark, she felt it and now it burned brightly between them. She felt his tongue on her lip and pushed her tongue past her lips to meet his. He groaned and deepened the kiss, wanting his tongue to be inside her hot mouth. His hands tangled in her damp hair, angling her head just the right way so he could reach all of her mouth perfectly.  
  
"Spike." Buffy moaned as he pulled his mouth away and looked at her through bright but lust-filled eyes. He closed in on her again, this time aiming for her neck. The look in his eyes made Buffy's widen and her mind start to turn again. This was wrong. They were costars and couldn't get involved like this. Too many things could go wrong.  
  
Just as Buffy was waffling between letting him keep kissing her neck and rubbing her hip, and pushing him away, her cell phone rang, snapping them both out of their reverie. Buffy did push him away then and rushed out of the pool to answer the savior that was her phone.  
  
"Hello?" She answered, out of breath from his kisses. She turned her back so she wouldn't have to look at him in the pool, his eyes still eager to continue. "Wes! How are you?"  
  
Spike flopped back in the water and let himself be submerged for a few moments before rising and slicking his hair back. He willed his body to calm down, but it didn't look like things were going to anytime soon. He had let things get way out of control. He may want to get to know her better and feel strongly attracted to her, but he wasn't going to ruin his chances with her by trying to get into her pants right away. Or in this case, her bathing suit.  
  
"Things are going great!" He heard Buffy say, too brightly. "No, I haven't killed him. I swear, he's fine... Wes, do you have *any* faith in me? . Just a second." Buffy turned and leaned down to give him the phone without looking at him, but he got a perfect view of her cleavage, which only negated his wishes to relax his body.  
  
"Wes? .Hey buddy . Yes, things are going good . We had a great time at the event last night .Well things got a little *heated*," Spike looked at Buffy at that, but she only flushed and refused to face him. "But it's all under control now. Unless she gives me another reason to take her on . no, seriously, things are great. This was a good way to solve our problems. I honestly do like Buffy."  
  
Buffy started to gather her things. She hadn't realized they had been in the pool for a couple of hours and it was now almost noon. If they were to go meet with his band this afternoon she had to go get ready. *And calm down my raging hormones*, she thought, still feeling his lips on hers and wishing she could have just one more.* NO! He's sexy as hell but getting involved with a co-star is beyond wrong. I WILL be strong.* But as soon she watched him emerge from the pool, she knew that was better said than done. The water ran off him, from his head down. His hair was smoothed back, but the natural curl in it was threatening to be unleashed; the water sluiced down his chest, paving the way over his sculpted pecs, around his hard nipples and down his amazing abdomen, before the rivulets disappeared into his black drunks. Her gaze traveled down his lean-muscled legs. *Even his feet are sexy*, she mused.  
  
"Yes, I expect we'll have a very good day, Wes . Talk to you later." Spike hung up the phone, never taking his eyes off her. He handed her the phone and stepped even closer to her. "I think today has already started out great."  
  
"You know, we've run enough lines for now, and it's getting late so I have to go get showered and ready and stuff, ok? Bye." Buffy said as she rushed around him, and out the door to the pool. Spike stood in the same spot, rock hard from watching her hightail it away from him from the rear.  
  
"Yes, I think I'm going to have one good day," he said to himself, his mouth curling into an almost evil smile. 


	10. Saturday's Child Work's Hard for It's Li...

Part 10: Saturday's Child Work's Hard for It's Living  
A/N: Sorry for the delay in postings so in retribution- TWO chapters for your viewing pleasure! Whee! (the second chap will follow in a day or so) I'm taking a course to make up for some credits at my uni for the next few weeks to graduate next year so I might not be Johnny-on-the- spot with updates now. But rest assured gentle viewers (Andrew's the shiznit, LMAO) I have some chaps done up in advance so I won't get behind in the long run. There are a few people I'd like to give a great and amazing thanks to though. Firstly to my awesome and wonderful betas- Magz (credited for the Anya line- "Tact is for suckers.") and Miss Kitty, who are always on the ball and right there when I need them. William's Girl, Info Gal, Mer, Daywalker *pokes Day back*, Webbsk, Echidna, Spikesfool, Renee, Lady Anne and Sweetie- you all leave such nice reviews that give me a laugh, keep me smiling and encourage me to keep going, even when I think I suck. So keep it up!  
  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy prayed for an earthquake, a tidal wave, an alien abduction - anything that would prevent her from ever seeing Spike again. She did not regret kissing Spike. Oh no, she was sure she had been born for that. She just didn't know how she was supposed to face him now. She had heard too many bad things about co-stars who get involved, and they were just now starting to be friends. What if they had ruined that? *It would almost be worth it though, just to feel his lips on mine again*. Buffy smiled sadly, but knew that it was for the best. She had to be strong; she was strong, especially after being through crappy relationships before. She didn't want another one. *I just want naked Spike on my bed, ready and waiting for me. I have to take a cold shower. *  
  
She rushed into the bathroom and got into the shower stall, hoping to satisfy the lust she felt by herself.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"How in the hell did that chit get into my head so soon? Just two days ago I hated her guts, didn't want to see her ever again and now here I am, trying to figure out an excuse to stumble into her room and fuck her silly." Spike muttered to himself as he readied his things to go to the shower. The image of Buffy looking up at him, shocked eyes filled with want for him, lips swollen from kissing and then running out, her fine ass swaying quickly to get away from him.  
  
*I won't let it happen. She's been burned, I've been burned. We're both working toward establishing a name for ourselves in movies, and this is wrong. This can't happen. We could ruin the movie - AGAIN - if we get involved and break up. I can't kiss her and hug her and have sex with her and. AUGH!*  
  
Spike quickly stripped off his swimwear and rushed to the shower stall. With the water pounding down his back he brought himself off, the name of the girl he couldn't let himself have falling from his lips.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy emerged from the shower a little calmer than when she went in. She had stayed under the spray for so long that her fingers and toes were wrinkled and pink. Maybe she would be less tense around Spike, now that she had taken care of the problem they had started with their kiss. Now if she could just avoid him for the nest two months.  
  
Buffy sighed and suddenly shook her head. *I'm an adult. A controlled, able adult who can keep her emotions in check. This is going to be fine!*  
  
She dug through one of the drawers in her room for her Disc Man and put her ear-buds in, hoping to drown out any more thoughts of the bleached wonder. The Chicago soundtrack started blaring in her ears and she went about putting on her makeup in the bathroom, focusing on the music.  
  
She started to get into the beat and bobbed around the bathroom as she cleaned up from her shower, throwing towels over the rack, shoving her makeup into it's case. She danced into the bedroom in her fluffy, complimentary hotel robe, which she let drop to the floor so she could get dressed. She picked out a pair of blue jeans, black camisole and white men's button up top to go over it to wear for the day, and after dressing she went back to dancing around the room. She grabbed her brush and started singing to 'Cell Block Tango', taking the part of Velma that Catherine Zeta-Jones played.  
  
She started dancing around the massive room to the music, remembering some dance steps she learned for plays in university. She started to sing even louder, getting into the part, picturing herself on a stage with the bright lights and hundreds of people staring at her. She missed the thrill of live performing, hot lights, rushed stage cues, but now she was on to better things. She came to Velma's big solo and started singing in earnest, speaking along with the lines before reaching the singing.  
  
"They had it coming! They had it coming! They had it coming all along! I didn't do it! But if I'd done it- how could you tell me that I was wrong?" She twirled her way across the room, kicking every now and then, grinding in that Cabaret way. Her still-wet hair slapped across her face as she swung around, her hairbrush still in her hand.  
  
She whirled around to face her bedroom door and shrieked, dropping the brush to the floor. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Sorry, luv, didn't mean to startle you." Spike smirked at her, leaning against the doorframe. "I knocked but you obviously didn't hear me. I could hear you from the hallway, so I tried the door."  
  
"Um, right. Uh- sorry. I-I- I'm never-" Buffy fumbled, embarrassed that he had caught her in one of her silly moods, especially writhing and swaying as she was. Her cheeks flamed more.  
  
"Quite the show you had going on there. Including the voice." Spike smiled genuinely at her. Buffy just shook her head and walked past him to the bathroom. He stood in the doorway, watching her brush her hair furiously. "I take it you did some musical theatre at some point."  
  
"Just a couple of times. Nothing major." Buffy took out her hairdryer and drowned out any attempt he had of persisting in the conversation. He didn't give up so easily however.  
  
"Ever consider trying to cut a demo?" He asked when she shut off the hairdryer.  
  
"Nope. I don't sing in public for anything other than an acting job. Never going to." She told him, squeezing some styling product into her hand and smoothing it through her hair. Spike had the urge to reach out and run his fingers through her man after her but kept his mind on the topic at hand.  
  
"Never say never, luv."  
  
"Never," She retorted, brushing past him into the bedroom.  
  
"You're in for a surprise, pet," he murmured so she couldn't hear him.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Like I told you, I think you might be kind of bored this afternoon. You won't even get to hear a lot of the songs we're doing tonight cause we're not doing a full rehearsal, just a run-through. But there will be a couple other women here for you to hang out with. Girlfriends of other members of the band," Spike told Buffy as they got out of the car they had taken to the club.  
  
"So you bring your girlfriends to all your gigs?" Buffy asked as he paid the driver.  
"The others do. I don't. Haven't had anyone to bring in awhile." He flashed her a genuine smile as they reached to door and he opened it for her. Her insides twisted a little at that but was distracted by the total darkness that surrounded her as she stepped from the patented California- only bright day into the nightclub dark building.  
  
"Here he is!" Someone yelled from the other end of the club. As Buffy's eyes adjusted to the black she could see some guys setting up instruments on a stage surrounded by tables, the small dancefloor behind them.  
  
"It's about damn time you got here, Giles." Someone else yelled, as he jumped from the stage and waited for them to come to him.  
  
"Sorry. I got behind in the time," he told the grinning man, none too apologetically.  
  
"Behind in the *times*, maybe," the guy chortled, an obvious dig against Spike's look. Spike took it in good spirit and rolled his eyes before turning to Buffy.  
  
"Buffy meet Kevin, Kevin, this is Buffy Summers. She's my co-star in the movie I'm in," He introduced them. "Careful of Kevin, he's. just watch out for him."  
  
Kevin grinned and took Buffy's hand to kiss the back. "Such a pleasure to meet a beautiful lady such as yourself. As beautiful as the stars themselves."  
  
"Nice to meet you, too," Buffy said politely, taking her hand back. "Always nice to know there are still guys who use cheesy pickup lines like that to remind girls of what they aren't missing."  
  
"Oooh! Burn!" Came a chortle from the stage. Kevin just grinned at Buffy. The other three members of the band came to meet Buffy as well, all shaking her hand in turn.  
"Meet Aaron, Steve and Charlie. Aaron's on drums, Steve plays keyboards and some guitar, Charlie plays guitar, a flute-like instrument, and the piano and Kevin and I play guitar. Guys, this is Buffy. She's my co-star in the movie I'm filming."  
  
"The one you ditched us for, huh?" Charlie teased.  
  
"If I got to work with her, I would have too!" Kevin exclaimed. Everyone just rolled their eyes at him.  
  
"Alright. Over here is where you'll watch us from with Anya and Amy." Spike told Buffy as he led her away from the guys and they returned to setting up their equipment.  
  
"Don't you guys have someone to set all this up for you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"For our concerts we do but for these gigs we like to keep it small, and because it's local. We don't need a lot of fuss. OK, Buffy, this is Anya," he told her, directing her attention to the blonde and brunette sitting at the table. "And Amy."  
  
"Hi." Buffy smiled at the two who looked at her curiously.  
  
"Hello there. I'm Anya." She held out her hand to Buffy who shook it. "Are you here to watch the boys?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sitting in on today's performances."  
  
"Good, good. Just remember to stay away from Aaron. He's my boyfriend. I like his penis very much." Anya told Buffy with a straight face. Buffy just turned to Spike with an odd look. He laughed and whispered in her ear.  
  
"She's 'armless. Just play dead, try not to give off the smell of fresh meat and she'll leave you alone." With that he left her standing at the table, watching the two girls and being watched.  
  
"Is Spike giving you many orgasms?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So?" Charlie asked when Spike got up on stage to tune his own guitar that the guys had brought with them.  
  
"So what?" He avoided Charlie's gaze.  
  
"What's the deal, Giles? You don't just bring a co-worker with you on outings. Who is she?"  
  
"She's Buffy. She's a friend who I've gotten to know over the past couple of days by decree of the studio heads for fear of getting fired." Spike explained.  
  
"Right." Charlie nodded as the others listened in. "That's why you aren't at all on edge about performing tonight with as little practice as we've had in the past month, making sure she's integrated well with everyone and you've got this stupid, goofy look on your face."  
  
"Spill, Spike. What's up?" Aaron asked him. Spike sighed and sat one on of the speaker boxes.  
  
"That's just it, I don't know what's up," he replied, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "She makes me want to throw her across the room one second and then the next I want to kiss her senseless. And she'd let me too, if she didn't have her own hang-ups. Which is another thing. Maybe. I don't know. Can't be a thing when I don't know what we are, right?"  
  
"Sounds like Giles has it bad," Kevin laughed. "What's she like?"  
  
"She's. amazing. Fire and ice, tranquil and a spitfire, makes me laugh and want to scream at the same time. She's just plain amazing. And she's got a good right hook," He chuckled to himself, rubbing his nose lightly.  
  
"I mean what's she like in the sack, man," Kevin teased. Spike just shook his head, and stood up. This was the signal for everyone to finish their work. Charlie stayed behind.  
  
"Look, man," he started. "If she's that great don't let her get away. Just- don't get mixed up with another Dru, ok? Cause we need you. I need someone to keep Kevin from landing in a Mexican jail because he followed some jail-bait back to her car."  
  
"I hear you, Charlie. And don't worry, mate, she's better than Dru ever was. Certainly too good for me," Spike told him, his gaze falling on Buffy sitting at the table, her cheeks suspiciously red.  
  
"So a mean right hook, huh?" Charlie asked, following Spike's eyes. Spike grinned.  
  
"You have no idea."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So how long have you and Spike been together?" Anya asked innocently, for the third time since Buffy sat down, in the third, and most direct, way. Buffy just sighed and looked at Anya wearily. Anya shrugged in response. "Tact is for suckers."  
  
"I'm not dating Spike, remember? We're friends, co-stars, acquaintances, merely passing each other on the road of life..." Buffy reminded her.  
  
And again Anya didn't believe her. "Please. I've been around here, with the band, for a long time now and I've never known Spike to bring a girl to a performance, let alone for the rehearsal. Something must be cooking between you two." She persisted.  
"And again, I had to come because the movie producers made us spend two days together. This is Spike's day to decide how we'll get to know each other."  
  
"I'm still not convinced." Anya decided, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed. Amy just sat in her chair, silent.  
  
Not knowing what else to say Buffy sat back as well and tuned into the band, doing a sound check. They had been rehearsing for over and hour now but Buffy had barely heard anything over Anya's direct questioning. She admired the blonde's willingness to say anything but her direction was a little personal. She didn't want to think about potential Spike orgasms or his penis. Not out loud anyway. But she was a little worried about Anya's insistence that she and Spike were together, even though Buffy denied it at every opportunity. If Anya was this sure and she had only known her for an hour maybe she was right in saying that Spike didn't bring anyone else here and this was something more. She hoped that it wasn't but she would have to talk to him now to make sure he understood her position. It was better for both of them that they didn't open that can of worms.  
  
"Alright guys, that should be good for now. Let's go get some grub!" Spike announced a few minutes later as they finished a song. There was a general tone of agreement among the whole group.  
  
"Hey, what'd you think?" Spike asked as he jumped from the stage and headed straight to Buffy.  
  
"Have to admit that I was a little distracted so I'll have to catch the whole thing tonight." Buffy admitted, rolling her eyes in Anya's direction who was distracted by Aaron. Spike just smiled and took her hand to help her out of her chair.  
  
"Did you get the third degree?" He asked, not letting her hand go. Buffy pulled it away carefully and pushed her hair over her shoulder.  
  
"More like the third degree cubed. She's. outgoing." Buffy laughed.  
  
"Yeah, that's Anya. Never been on to shy away from the really important things. Like sex and penises." Buffy nodded in agreement. "Course, they are important things to some people, I suppose. I'm more interested in things pertaining to the opposite sex, especially tiny, volatile blondes but-"  
  
Buffy cut Spike off. "Spike, we need to talk." With his eyebrow raised he nodded at her to continue. "This," Buffy gestured between them. "Can't happen. I mean, it could, but it won't. Because we're costars and we are trying to make a good movie, you know? I'm just getting to know you as a friend and this whole innuendo thing you have going is a little unsteadying. Maybe I'd acting like a prude, I don't know but I just want to do really well with this and I like being your friend, cause you're nice, once you get to know you. I'm sure you know that. But that's beside the point. I just- don't feel comfortable with the remarks and suggestions. I- I. I'm babbling." Buffy took a deep breath and looked up at Spike who was staring back at her with an amused look on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry Buffy. I didn't realize that my comments made you so uncomfortable. I just- I'm. I - like being your friend too, so I would never want to do anything to harm that. I'll try to be on my best behavior." Spike told her, wincing as he stumbled a little. He wanted to tell her that he liked her. He didn't know how she would react to that however so it might be best to let things play out on their own. She was rattled by him though, he knew that, and not necessarily in a bad way.  
  
"Good. Good, that's very good." Buffy nodded her head. "We've worked hard to get where we are right now and that's important."  
  
"You're right, it is. Hungry?" He asked. Buffy stared at him for a moment before saying she was. He gave her a quick smile to go round up the others, leaving her to think.  
  
*That was easy. Too easy. Or just easy enough. Maybe he doesn't have a thing for you, that kiss was all just a misunderstanding and he just wanted an easy out.* She didn't think he would agree to tone down his Romeo act so easily. She also wasn't sure how she felt now that they were going to be just friends. * Am I disappointed? She wondered to herself. Nah, I asked for this and I got it, simple as that. I don't have to worry about feeling funny around him now.*  
  
Spike smiled at her from across the room where he was talking to Anya and Aaron as the others got together. Buffy felt her breath hitch as she watched him, his hair gleaming under the dim lights, his blue eyes electric to her, even though she was really too far away to see clearly, and his smile warming her from the inside out.  
  
*Oops,* Buffy thought weakly as they all started to leave the club to go to dinner. *Only you Buffy, only you.*  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So this guy decides to run to the ladies room before she gets there and take EVERY single roll of toilet paper he can, just so he could get revenge on her," Kevin laughed, pointing at Spike. The whole table roared, in hysterics for the past half hour over memories of band exploits.  
  
"The crazy chit gave us a terrible review. What else was I supposed to do? Sit there and take it?" Spike covered himself, looking around the table for support. His gaze fell on Buffy, across from him and wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard. He took a deep breath when he looked at her, wishing he could kiss her again, or even just hold her hand. But she had made her feelings perfectly clear that afternoon when she'd asked him to cut out the suggestive comments that he'd been making to her. It wasn't something he did to be a rude or uncouth guy, it was his way of flirting. He knew that she liked it because she had responded to it time and again, but now she asked for it to stop. So he would. And wait for her signal.  
  
"At least none of you got *hurt* in any of our pranks," Aaron grumbled, good-naturedly. Seeing Buffy's confused expressions he explained, "The guys decided that they needed some form of initiation for me when I joined, as I was the last guy. So they got me to agree to do this stupid 'trick'. They got me to pull down my pants, get a piece of toilet paper the length of my body and stick it between my butt-cheeks. The set the paper on fire and I had to drink a glass of beer before the fire reached my ass. Sounds easy, right? Cause the fire would reach a plateau and burn slow enough for me to chug the beer. What I didn't realize till after I had blisters on my ass is that they were standing behind me splashing beer on the paper. Assholes."  
  
Everyone laughed again, besides Anya who snuggled into Aaron. "If I had known you then I would have kissed it and made it better." She told him. Aaron smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her, eliciting a groan from the other guys in the band.  
  
"Come on!" Kevin threw a piece of bread at the kissing couple. "Get a room."  
  
Kevin and Anya separated, Anya looking more that a little perturbed. "It's not like it wasn't ten times worse when it was Spike and Dru." Kevin said. A silence fell over the table at that and Kevin turned red, realizing what he'd said.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Guys, bugger off it. It's not like you can avoid talking about her or us completely. She happened, we happened, it's not a secret. We make mistakes and move on."  
  
"Yeah, but what about." Kevin made a motion with his head in Buffy's direction. Both Spike and Buffy rolled their eyes this time.  
  
"Guys! We're not dating! Co-stars, friends, strangers in the night. It's what we ARE. I swear, you all are worse than a dog with a bone. We *aren't* dating." *And likely never will,* Spike lamented internally, but laughed with the others. Buffy stayed silent, wondering what would have happened if she had let things go the way they had been ad they'd gotten even closer.  
  
*No point in wondering what could have been. Focus on what is.* She gave herself a little pep talk and snapped back to reality.  
  
"Spike, were we going back to the hotel before you had to go back to the club?" She asked. He nodded and stood. The left the table, left money for the bill, and told everyone they would be back in a little while so they could change.  
  
As soon as the blonde couple left the rest of the table looked at each other. Anya was the first to speak.  
  
"I've got fifty that says they're going to be giving each other orgasms by the end of the week."  
  
"I'll take that bet. I say it'll take a month." Steve threw his bill in the middle of the table. Everyone else anted up, choosing the date they thought Spike and Buffy would finally cave. The sparks between the two were so hot it wasn't a matter of if they got together, it was when. 


	11. Centre Stage

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Part 11: Centre Stage  
See Part 1 for disclaimer, ratings and summary.  
A/N: OK- HERE'S THE DEAL. I KNOW MY FORMATTING SCREWED UP. I  
DON'T KNOW HOW TO CHANGE IT WITHOUT RE-WRITING THE WHOLE DAMN  
CHAPTER, SO GO WITH IT. WANT TO READ IT WITHOUT THE SCREWED UP  
BITS? W W W. SPUFFYFANTASY . COM (HOPEFULLY THEY DON'T KICK THIS  
OFF CAUSE OF THAT). Any songs or lyrics mentioned/used in this  
part are property of Bruce Springsteen (although altered a bit  
because that is the way Ghost of the Robot sang them) and Sheryl  
Crow.  
PLEASE REVIEW!!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"OK, we go to the club, you go up on stage, do your thing for a few hours, then what?" Buffy asked as they walked out of the hotel later in the evening to head back the club. Buffy decided to play casual cool in a pair dark blue jeans and a black halter top with a small clutch big enough to carry her cell, pepper spray and some money, since the club wasn't a real dance club, just a small hotspot to go to listen to bands. Spike was dressed down as well, for comfort and to perform, in a pair of jeans, sneakers and a red t-shirt. When Buffy asked about the duster and combat boots he told her that his image was on vacation for the night, which she laughed at.  
"Then we go home and go to bed, luv. Early call time for the set, right?" He told her as they got into the cab they called.  
"No after parties? No wild shindigs to celebrate?" Buffy teased him.  
"Not for a gig like this, not for a 9 am call time for the set, not at my age." Spike told her.  
"'At your age'. You fool. You're only- what twenty-five?" Buffy poked him in his ribs.  
"Lived more in these twenty-five years than a lot of people." He looked almost sad and Buffy wanted to squeeze him tight, tell him it was going to be ok. But she couldn't. Not after the rules she had laid down for them that afternoon, and not after vowing to herself that she wouldn't muddle things up for them on the set.  
"Well tonight you can show me a little bit of that living that you have done, up there in the spotlight." Buffy said, to try to lighten the mood. Spike turned to her and studied her for a moment before giving her a small smirk.  
"I think I can do that."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy got to see all the behind the scenes stuff that she wanted as performance time neared for the band. They were calm and cool, whereas Buffy was nervous for them. She had never really been to any kind of concert in her life as Sunnydale was so small so even this little show was a big deal for her. The members of 'Band of Buggered' milled about, chatting with their small entourage of girlfriends and managers and stagehands, the club owners and some lucky fans who got backstage. Spike tried to stay by Buffy's side as much as possible but his job kept him away. Instead she talked with Anya and Amy and took in all the new sights and sounds.  
"Alright luv, we're on. Just go out, sit back and enjoy."  
"Well break a leg, ok? Can I say that? Is that ok to say?" Buffy asked, worried she had jinxed them. Spike just laughed.  
"It's fine. But there is something you could do to make it better." He said, slyly. Buffy narrowed her eyes.  
"What?"  
"Kiss for luck?" Spike grinned. Buffy rolled her eyes at him, but before he turned, defeated, to follow the rest of the band to the stage she gave him a peck on the cheek.  
"Happy?" She asked.  
"Getting there." He disappeared into the darkness of the backstage area as she let Amy and Anya lead her back to the front where their table was.  
Spike had a grin on his face the whole time they took their places on the stage. He had already started to break down her defenses, which tickled him pink. He'd get through to her eventually and she'd realize how easy it was to want to be with him.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The screams of the girls in the audience were making Buffy's ears ring. Not that she didn't understand why they were screaming. Spike was hot. He was on fire. He made her want to jump him here in front of the four hundred or so fans that there were here. He strutted across the stage like he owned it, he sang as if he was ravaged with need for the subject of his song and he was sweaty and glistening under the hot lights. His whole persona had changed. He was not the attentive, persistent guy that she had grown used to in the past forty-eight hours, but a snarling, swaggering bad- boy dreamboat. He worked the crowd well, talking to them, laughing with them, making them scream for more. "Yeah, but have any of them really kissed you? Made your toes curl and your blood boil? Made you want to scream so loudly from want and need that you'd wake up the neighbors and then kiss you past caring about it?" She remembered him telling her this just today, before they had shared that amazing kiss that would have ended up who knows where if Wes hadn't called.  
  
She was having fun. Spike and the boys made sure that they gave an entertaining performance and sang all of the audience's favorite songs. They didn't really have a set schedule that they were playing by so whatever people yelled out, they played if they could. Anya and Amy got into it as well, not just yelling up songs but comments that were meant to make the band blush. Some of the other people in the audience looked at their table with envy, knowing that they had some connection to the band, others looked on with pure hatred for the same reason. Buffy had stayed quiet for the most part, talking with Anya and Amy and finally getting to enjoy the show that she had missed at the rehearsal.  
They had been performing for about an hour when Spike decided to single Buffy out of the crowd. He didn't point her out or say her name to embarrass her but he dedicated their song "Dangerous" to her, or rather the 'only chit who could ever take me down with a swing of her mighty fist or within three seconds of opening her mouth' to which he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, implying something more insidious than what he actually meant. He shot a quick look her way and grinned so that she knew that she was the focus of his declaration. Anya and Amy just looked at her with knowing looks, and giggled. I don't think you know my name  
  
I think you'd leave me standing in the rain  
  
Pretty little girl, got a thing for me  
  
But you'd cut me open and let me bleed  
That little shit. Buffy thought, not upset by it, knowing it was all in good fun. She was flattered, really, that he had done it. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to get back at him. Once he started his next song, laughing and joking with the crowd she stood up before he started to sing and yelled out very loudly, "Ooh baby! Take it off!"  
Spike grew very red and almost missed his cue, but managed to make it through the song, the whole time staring at her as she tried hard not to laugh. She wasn't sure if it would work because she knew that he probably got these requests all the time, what with him being so hot, but coming from her she thought it might throw him for a loop- which it did quite successfully.  
  
I'm driving in your car  
  
I turn on the radio You're pulling me close I just say no I say I don't like it But girl you know I'm a liar Cause when we kiss  
  
Ooh Fire  
  
He played to the audience with this song, dropping his voice low and sexy, staring at certain people with a piercing gaze.  
  
Romeo and Juliet Sampson and Delilah Baby you can bet their love couldn't be denied My words say split But my words they lie Cause when we kiss Fire Fire  
  
"You are bad! You made me fuck up the song!" He pointed at her from the stage, laughing at her as the audience hooted and hollered. Buffy blushed but laughed along with him. Amy and Anya grinned at her, laughing as well.  
The three girls laughed and talked amongst themselves as the band set up for their next song. The stage went dark and haunting piano music filled the club. Buffy looked up, expecting to see Spike singing but saw only Charlie on stage, performing solo. Out of the shadows Spike appeared to her right and took a seat at their table.  
"Enjoying the show are we, luv?" Spike asked grinning at her. Buffy giggled at him, humored that she had made him uncomfortable.  
"Hope you had your fun. Cause you're up next luv." He told her and her face dropped.  
"What?" She asked, her face dropping.  
"You're going to sing."  
"Uh, no. I'm not." She informed him.  
"Yeah, you are. It's either that or I embarrass you to death for the rest of the night. I'm sure I can come up with a few nuggets of information for the crowd to feast on." Spike quickly clarified his statement when he saw her face pale when she thought he would tell everyone her secrets that she had told him last night. "Nothing like that, pet. I'm thinking more along the lines of how many lines you flub up, how long you have to spend in the makeup chair, how much you love making out with me when we're filming. And I know there are some reporters in the audience."  
"You jerk, you wouldn't!" She playfully punched him when she saw his grin. "I cannot go up there and sing."  
"Sure you can. You get to pick the song as long as we can play it. You'll be great. And the other girls have done it." He gestured to Amy and Anya who were looking on with interest. "It's all in fun, luv. Come on up and shake you're thang." Spike's attempt at cool was diminished slightly by his English accept.  
"I can't sing."  
"I've heard you sing, luv. You're good."  
"But some people do it better than others."  
"Only according to the person listening. Come on. It'll be a lot of fun. Come on up and let loose. You know you want to." His voice dropped low, becoming sexier than ever, which Buffy found hard to resist.  
"I might suck."  
"You might be really great."  
"I might embarrass you."  
"You might make us all proud."  
"I might shove your nose into your brain."  
Spike bit back the comment of 'I might kiss you' so he wouldn't get her fist in his face and smirked instead. "Come back stage and we'll pick you a song."  
Buffy hid her head in her arms, patted on the shoulders by Anya and Amy. "You'll be great Buffy." Anya encouraged her. Amy just nodded. "We've all done it," she continued. "You'll rock the house."  
"Yeah, but I might make it crumble to the ground." She told them as Spike took her hand and led her backstage. Aaron and Kevin hooted when Buffy was brought backstage, "Fresh meat!"  
"Guys, lay off, eh?" Spike warned them. Buffy was unsure of how to react to this situation. She was scared out of her wits for having to go up on stage in front of everyone but at the same time she was excited at being able to try to wow everyone, most importantly Spike. She had done extensive training with musical theatre in university, as she'd told him, so she knew she could hold her own, getting up on stage in front of anyone, especially cold, was daunting.  
"What are you up to, luv? We can play just about anything and make it sound half-decent." Spike told her.  
"Um, I'm really not sure. I just sing along to whatever is on the radio usually." "OK, well lets see what we can do then." Spike said as the group began throwing out a few suggestions. Finally, ten minutes later and three Charlie-sung songs later they decided on the song that she would sing.  
Buffy suddenly got butterflies in her stomach as she realized that she would be up there in front of four hundred people. Sure, millions saw her movies but if she screwed up there the flubs went to the blooper reel, usually never to be broadcast publicly. Just go out there and do you thing. Suck it up, princess! You were in front of more people than this in university!  
Spike knew that Buffy was uneasy at the thought of going out on stage with them, but he had confidence in her. After the sample he had witnessed in the hotel room he wanted to see how she did when the pressure was on. Unless she cracked and then that would just be embarrassing. Don't think like that mate! Watch her go out there and leave your mouth hanging open.  
The rest of the band hustled out to the stage, leaving Buffy in the wings, waiting to be called out. The crowd went wild at the site of them only increasing Buffy's anxiety. These people had come here for them not her.  
"Alright, ladies and gents. We have a special surprise for you tonight. As many as you know we like to put unsuspecting guinea pigs on the spot here and tonight is no different. This time however, we have someone you might have all heard of to rock the house. So put your hands together for one Demon Hunter, Buffy Summers!" Spike announced into the microphone. The crowd gave a healthy applause, with some hoots and hollers from the male audience members when they saw Buffy step into the spotlight. She smiled at them tentatively but as soon as she took her position at the microphone a calm fell over her.  
  
I left a man Asleep in the nude His name in my pocket With lipstick and rouge  
  
Buffy's voiced dropped, low and seductive as the band took their cues from her to start the song. Spike just watched her, as she wrapped her hand around the microphone and crooned into it, in a way that made him strain dangerously in his jeans. His guitar thankfully covered that part of his body, making his situation less embarrassing.  
  
Everything I've ever wanted What a lovely pie you've baked Is anybody listening? Why the painted bird never flies away It's just an ordinary morning It's just an ordinary day And I'm just an ordinary woman Slipping away  
  
She was really doing it. She owned the crowd, she owned the band. This was her stage at that very moment.  
  
The walls have been talking About me again I'm good for a joke but when I awoke The dream didn't end  
  
She strutted around a little, pausing by Spike to sing to him, tempting him, hypnotizing him with her hooded eyes and sensual moves. His pants became painfully tight as he watched her saunter back to the microphone stand, a little sway to her walk.  
  
Now every time I turn around I'm only Sleeping John Is anybody out there? And the wounded bird still sings Ooh It's just an ordinary morning It's just an ordinary day And I'm just an ordinary woman Slipping away Don't you want to slip away  
  
She gave all she had to finish the song, which brought thunderous applause and catcalls from the jazzed audience. When the song finally ended Buffy blushed harder than she thought she ever had, slightly embarrassed that she had slipped into the role of sultry singer so easily. Well being an actress, isn't that the point you moron?  
"Alright guys, we're going to take a short intermission. Don't miss us too much." Spike murmured into the mic, eliciting another round of applause before ushering Buffy offstage where he grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around. He set her down and looked deep into her eyes, the spark from her performance still hovering around them, increasing their heartbeats. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the rest of the band and Anya and Amy.  
"Woo! That was amazing Buffy! Where'd you ever hide that voice of yours? Hell, where'd you learn that voice?" Charlie whooped.  
"Theatre in university." She told him.  
"Wow. Ok guys we have to figure out what's what for the next set." Charlie changed the focus back to business, which drew a sigh of relief from Buffy. She just wanted to come down off her high and recall the thrill of being on stage, especially with Spike.  
OK, so the two day, stop hating each other experiment was a success Wes. Now, how do we stop from liking each other more than we should? Buffy wondered to herself, watching Spike out of the corner of her eye as she tried to squelch the voice inside her that told her to jump his sexy bones. Yeah, I'd say we're crossing over into the naughty liking area. Oh boy. 


	12. Revelations

**Part 12: Revelations**   
  
A/N- Look look! New AOI! I hope to have part 16 done ASAP along with 17 and then more MLIT. Hopefully this week. Hopefully. MLIT (Mortal Love, Immortal Tears) is the new fic that I am working on. Both fics and other can be found on my brand spankin' new website- w w w . still- believe. org / marishna. (without spaces, of course). So come and read! Remember to review!. 

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Charlie asked Spike as the band packed up their equipment.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Spike avoided Charlie's gaze.   
  
"Will." Charlie laid his hand on the other man's back to get him to still his motions. "She's something, isn't she?"   
  
"That's putting it mildly." Spike chuckled, sitting on an amp. Charlie sat beside him on another amp as Steve, Kevin and Aaron same to stand with them. "She's… fire. She's ice and fire all in one. She's passion and calm mixed with temptation and quick wit and –"   
  
"Whoa man, we get it. She's cool." Steve cut him off before he could go on further.   
  
"No, you don't get it. She's everything in the world and so much more. She's… amazing." Spike said with a silly grin on his face.   
  
"How long have you known her, again?" Kevin asked.   
  
"Almost a month. But we've only been able to get along for the past couple of days." Spike said, almost dreamily.   
  
"Right. Well, anything's better than Dru, I guess." Kevin reasoned, which earned him an elbow in the ribs from Aaron.   
  
Charlie shook his head at the bunch. "Look, if she's all that you're saying she is than she's ok in my books. It's been far too long since you showed interest in anyone, let alone brought them to the club to watch us."   
  
"Well, that was actually by decree. It was shape up or ship out from the director. So here we are."   
  
"Lucky coincidence or surprise meeting of the minds?" Charlie asked.   
  
"Little of both, I think. I knew that I had felt something since I had ran into her, literally, in the hallways that first day," Charlie nodded, remembering the story. "But everything else made me want to tear my hair out. She was rude, mean, spiteful, mouthy, not willing to give me a chance at all. I had just about given up on her. Especially after she clocked me good Thursday." Spike rubbed his nose, slightly embarrassed at telling the guys she had got a good shot in on him.   
  
"Little scrapper, is she?" Steve chuckled. Spike laughed along with him, thinking about the tiny tiger he had on his hands.   
  
"Yeah, that's putting it mildly."   
  
"So what changed?" Charlie prodded. He was happy to know that Spike had finally found someone he felt strongly about again. It had been a _long_ time since Dru. There had been a few meaningless flings here and there but Charlie knew that Spike was really looking for that special someone, or at least someone who wouldn't be gone the next morning. The fact that he had been doting on her all day, making sure she was comfortable, had someone to chat with, brought her up on stage to sing and then was dumbfounded by her performance said a lot. It took more than a sexy girl and a wiggle in her walk to turn Spike's head nowadays.   
  
"She dropped her walls and I stopped being a pig." He smiled. Not a smirk, or a grin but true, bonafide Spike smile. _Yup, this girl is here to stay,_ Charlie thought. "She just… knocks me off my feet with a look, a sound, a mere breath." Spike trailed off at the looks in the faces of the men around him. "Yeah, I'll cut out the poetry."   
  
"Well you'll have to bring her around again when you're not so busy being Mr. Big-Shot Movie Star so we can get to know her better. She's already hit it off with the girls, which could be bad for us, if she turns out to be as hard on us as they are." Steve pointed to the three girls, still sitting at the table laughing over something.   
  
"I'll do that. Lets get this stuff packed up so we can go home. Mr. Big-Shot Movie Star has a nine o'clock call time on set." Spike said, standing up. Guy time was over.   
  
  
*****   
"Talk to you later Buffy!" Anya called as she and Steve made their way out of the club. Buffy waved and smiled, finally beginning to come down from the night. It was almost three in the morning and everyone had finally gone home but for she and Spike.   
  
"I called the cab, it should be here soon." Spike told her as he led her to the side entrance of the club backstage. There were some die-hard fans still waiting in the front for some of the band members to emerge so they could sign autographs but Spike decided to spare Buffy that, as it was late and they both needed to get back to the hotel.   
  
"I don't know how you do this. I mean, I'm tired and I didn't really do anything today. But you were up there singing and performing all night. Then we have to get up tomorrow at an ungodly hour and keep going."   
  
"We do this every night when we're on tour, luv. This is nothing. After we were nominated for the Grammy we went on a worldwide tour for a year. I don't think I got more than five hours of sleep a week for the whole year."   
  
Buffy just shook her head, as they opened the side door. "You can keep it. I much prefer my filming schedules. Erratic at times, but keeps me sane."   
  
"You? Sane? Ha." Spike joked with her. They were just through the door when he stopped. "Crap. I forgot one of my songbooks."   
  
"You go ahead and I'll wait here for the cab."   
  
"Luv, it's after three in the morning in LA. I'm not leaving you here. Just come with me, I'll just be a second."   
  
"And then we'll miss our cab and we'll have to call another to get a half decent one and it'll take forever. I'll keep the door open and I have mace in my bag. Hurry and I'll be fine."   
  
"Buffy-"   
  
"Go. Mace, see? I'll keep the door open. Go," She repeated. Spike looked like he was about to argue with her again but she scowled at him and shook her can of mace. He nodded and took off quickly, not wanting to leave her there any longer than necessary. Buffy wasn't worried. She took self-defense and she did have the spray. There was no one in the alley anyway.   
  
The air was heavy and thick, signaling rain. She hoped it would wait until the cab came to open up on them. But not even rain could make her upset at that point. Tonight had been a lot of fun. In high school she had been a social butterfly, always out and about but since she had been focusing on her acting she really didn't have time or friends to go out with anymore. In university she had tried to get involved in some activities but after her relationship with Parker she kept to herself a lot, only hanging out with Willow and a few other girls from her dorm. It had not been a bad way to spend her short time there because she focused more on her studies. Tonight had meant a lot to her though, just to get out and do something with real people. And Spike had been electric. So vibrant and wild on the stage, wooing the ladies but always seeming a little out of their reach. A bad boy who could not be tamed. That was a far cry from the fun, obnoxious, flirty Spike she had seen before tonight. The stage act was just that- an act.   
  
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone walking up the dark alley until they cleared their throat. Buffy jumped, on guard and cursing herself for not being more cautious. She gripped her mace tighter, ready to let the person have it if they made a move. But they just stood there.   
  
"Buffy? Buffy Summers?" They took a step closer, allowing their face to be lit by the single bulb over the door. He was tall, and hulking, incredibly built. He looked familiar but she couldn't place him in her momentary state of surprise.   
  
"Don't come any closer." She said, edging back towards to door.   
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just saw the show and thought you were great, was walking by and thought I saw you. I wanted to say hi. I don't know if you remember me." He stepped back a little, so as to reassure her and put his hands up.   
  
"Um," Buffy studied his face, trying to recall where she had seen him but came up blank. "Sorry. It's been a long day."   
  
He just laughed. "I understand. We were seatmates on the flight here from New York last month? You had the tension with a side of fear from the flying and I had the moron entrée and annoying soup?"   
  
Buffy laughed as she remembered. "Oh yeah. I remember you now. I mean-"   
  
"No, it's ok. I was a dork. I was just so excited to meet you. It was a nice surprise to see you here tonight, as unexpected as it was. I never in a million years thought I would see you up there with 'Band of Buggered'."   
  
"Well, stranger things have happened, right?" Buffy gave a small smile. He smiled back, a big, toothy grin from ear to ear. He stepped forward cautiously.   
  
"I'm Riley. Riley Finn." Buffy just nodded, not offering her hand to him.   
  
"Nice to meet you. Did you enjoy the show?"   
  
"Um… not quite. To tell the truth I really don't like the band. My friend had tickets and dragged me along. It was worth it though, just to see you up on stage. You were amazing." Riley looked at her with such adoration that Buffy felt a little uncomfortable.   
  
"Thanks." Buffy stood, watching him warily as he gazed at her. He seemed nice enough but the way he was looking at her gave her the wiggins.   
  
"Do you need a ride? Is that why you are waiting? I have a car, I could take you anywhere you wanted to go, anywhere." Riley offered.   
  
Buffy just smiled a little. "No, that's fine. Spike and I are waiting for a cab. Thanks anyway, though."   
  
"Spike? The guy who sang tonight?" Riley's face fell at the mention of Spike.   
  
"Yeah, Spike. He's starring in the movie I am shooting with me."   
  
"Why are you going home with him? Are you two together?" Riley asked, anxious.   
  
"No, we're just catching a cab together." Buffy told him slowly.   
  
"That's good. He just isn't right for you. You're so perfect, and he has had a questionable past. Not right for you at all."   
  
Buffy didn't know what to say to that. "Well, uh-"   
  
"That's why it was such a shock for me to see you singing with him. You're so much better than him. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home? I can get you there in just a second." Riley took a step closer, adoration all over his face. Buffy took a step backwards, moving closer to the door, getting read to spray him with mace if she had to, but he didn't even notice.   
  
"You know, that's really ok and I should be getting inside now-"   
  
"Do you want to go out sometime? I know this great little place, not too far from here. It's always open, we could go now! You'd love it! It's the perfect place to sit and talk." Riley looked hopeful and took another step towards her.   
  
"Um, I really can't. I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I have- I have to get inside. I'm sure that Spike is waiting for me." She shuffled back farther for the door to get inside the building.   
  
"He shouldn't be around you, you know. He doesn't deserve to be around you." The tall man moved quicker than she expected to her side, hulking over her, looking menacing in the dim light. "You need someone to treat you like a princess. Someone who won't leave you in a dingy alley for any freak to come along and hurt."   
  
His hand reached out to touch her but he jerked it back when a car pulled up, headlights blinding them both a little. Also at that moment Spike came out of the door and ran into the still stunned Buffy.   
  
"Buffy? Are you alright?" Spike laid an arm across her shoulders as he noticed Riley standing far too close to her for his liking.   
  
"I'm fine. The cab is here, lets just go." Buffy said hurriedly. She just wanted to get into the car as fast as possible and leave this overly concerned giant behind. Spike ushered her to the cab, casting a wary glance at Riley who stood, glaring at Spike.   
  
"Buffy," Riley called out. "If you ever want to get in touch with me I am attending school at UCLA. I'm in dorm so the residence office can track me down for you." He flashed a winning smile at her, completely oblivious to her discomfort.   
  
Buffy didn't look at Riley as they got in the cab and drive away. If she had she might have noticed the hardened look of hatred on his face, aimed directly at the back of Spike's head.   
*****   
"So what was that?" Spike asked when they were on the road back to the hotel.   
  
"Damned if I know." Buffy replied, shaken from the encounter.   
  
"Who was he?" Spike asked, trying to hide the note of jealousy that crept into the question. When Buffy didn't reply right away he looked closer at her and noticed she was pale and shivering slightly.   
  
"Hey, hey. It's okay, luv. We're gone. He's back there, it's okay. I should never have left you there alone."   
  
"I'm fine, Spike. Really. I just didn't expect that." Buffy wrapped her arms around herself to try to stop the shivering. Spike moved closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, hoping to warm her a little.   
  
"Tell your manager about that, eh?"   
  
"About what? He was just an over excited fan." Buffy tried to brush it off but when she didn't push away from him he knew that the encounter was more than just an 'over excited fan'.   
  
"It's good to let them know what's going on, you know that. I've dealt with more than a few rabid fans who want to have my babies, or send me their underwear. That's cool and all, but when they start to reach out beyond that, letters and phone calls, tracking you down- that's when you have to nip it in the bud. Please, just tell me that you'll call your manager in the morning?" Spike had true concern in his voice so Buffy relented.   
  
"Fine, but it wasn't that big a deal. He just- wanted to go out for dinner." Buffy started to calm down as her adrenaline stopped pumping through her veins, and the shivering stopped but neither made a move to separate.   
  
"Captain Cardboard is what that one was. Just a Midwestern farm boy, looking to score big with a city gal." Spike told her.   
  
"How do you know he was Midwest?" Buffy asked him.   
  
"Just a guess. He looked like the whole-wheat, well brought up type. They're the ones that tend to go psychotic too."   
  
"Gee, Spike. Thanks for trying to make me feel safe." Buffy said sarcastically.   
  
"No worries, luv. I'll protect you I'll be a manly man for you, defend your honor and all that." Buffy just laughed and pushed away from him slightly. Spike internally mourned the closeness and warmth from her body.   
  
"Oh dear. Left to the defenses of Spike Giles. What would I ever do with myself, having such a big strong, 'manly man' around?" Buffy snickered. Spike leaned in close to whisper to her.   
  
"I'm probably more of a man than Captain Cardboard, if you catch my drift, luv." Buffy just shook her head at him, too tired and drained to correct him innuendoes and changed the subject.   
  
"Crap. It's raining."   
  
"Don't like the rain, luv?" Spike asked.   
  
"Not when it frizzes my hair."   
  
"Oh, poor princess. Do you melt just like sugar too?"   
  
"More than likely." Buffy grinned at him.   
  
"Well rest assured luv, I wouldn't tell anyone if your hair frizzes. You know," he mused. "I've always had this kind of fantasy about the rain." Buffy just raised her eyebrows.   
  
"Not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter! Have you ever danced in the rain?"   
  
"Can't say as I have."   
  
"Me neither. But I'm waiting for it."   
  
"For what exactly?"   
  
"For that moment when someone throws away all their inhibitions, grabs my hand and just dances in the rain with me. Like I'm the only one in the world, like I'm the only one who matters. They don't care about what others say or think when they see two nuts dancing in the rain. Someone who is secure enough to dance alone but wants to share it with me. It's also how I want to sing."   
  
"In the rain?"   
  
"No, like I'm singing only to one other person. There's just them and me, one-on-one. No preconceptions or expectations about who I am or what I do. Someone there who wants to be with me no matter what. Someone who is brave enough to dance alone but wants to dance with me." He finished with a wry smile, slightly embarrassed at sharing such a crazy and simple dream with her, but at the same time a seed of hope grew in his heart. Would she offer? After these past two days of growing closer and discovering more about each other and putting themselves to the test would she offer?   
  
Buffy bit her lip, wondering if that was a hint that he wanted her to be the one to dance with him. She couldn't though, not after the speech she had given him. And this sounded serious. Like he was asking for someone she wasn't, that she couldn't be for him. He was hot and drove her crazy in more ways that one but that did not necessarily equate a relationship. And relationships were luxuries she couldn't afford at the moment as she was trying to get her career moving.   
  
"When you find that person, I hope they make you very happy." She cautiously replied, feeling instant regret.   
  
Spike's seed of hope shriveled a little, as did his ego but he gave her a trademark smirk. "So do I, luv."   
*****   
"So what happens tomorrow?" Buffy asked as they reached her door at the hotel.   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Are we suddenly all buddy-buddy or do we keep some sort of distance? Do we keep going like we are right now, or do we want to seem somewhat professional on set?"   
  
"Nothing unprofessional about what we're doing right now."   
  
"No, I guess not. I guess it's just going to seem weird that the two people who were physically fighting two days ago are suddenly friends."   
  
"I wouldn't say so. And besides, who cares? Wes will be more than happy that we've worked it out and lets face it, this means a better environment for everyone on set. I imagine there was some tip-toeing around us at times in the past month."   
  
"Yeah, I feel horrible about that. We were so nasty to everyone." Buffy thought back on her behavior in the past month and almost turned crimson, especially when she thought of her actions towards the man standing in front of her. "I'm sorry."   
  
"For what?"   
  
"For the past month. Everything. The nasty comments, hitting you, thinking terrible thoughts about you."   
  
"We've already talked about this Buffy, it's over. We're all good, starting over. Like you said, we're friends."   
  
Buffy smiled and nodded. "Yes, friends. Good."   
  
"And as friends, it would be wrong for either of us to discuss anything that we talked about in the past two days, right?" Spike asked her, thinking about his confession in the car. If that got out to the tabloids he's have every crazy person in the country trying to grab him and throw him into a thunderstorm.   
  
"Of course. It goes without saying. Pal." Buffy grinned as she chucked him on the shoulder. Spike grinned.   
  
"Ok, buddy." He reached out to pat her shoulder, but once his hand landed there it didn't move. Spike and Buffy stared at each other, gazes locked. The sight of Buffy from this morning in the water, in a two-piece bathing suit, her lips parted from their kiss flashed before his eyes and Spike almost groaned at that memory. He knew he couldn't do this, Buffy didn't want him to. She had told him so. Then why wasn't she pulling away, why did she just stand there, staring at him, her lips again parted slightly, just _aching_ to be kissed?   
  
Buffy stood, paralysed by Spike's gaze. She felt her face grew hot, her lips parting, waiting for him to lean down and kiss her. She knew that this was wrong, but at that very moment she wanted to throw the rulebook out the window, take him downstairs and do the rumba in the rain. But that couldn't happen. Not after she had made her guidelines abundantly clear, not after telling him they were friends, not after anything. This just couldn't happen, no matter how much she wanted it.   
  
"Spike, wait." Buffy whispered, coming back to reality and realizing his lips were mere inches from hers. "This-"   
  
"Can't happen, I know." He pulled away and backed up a couple steps, allowing her some personal space. "Sorry."   
  
"It's okay. Just a – momentary lapse in our faculties, right?"   
  
"Er- yeah, if that's what you call it."   
  
"Okay, so I'm going to turn in. It's _way_ late and I have to be up by at least seven thirty." Buffy fumbled with her keycard, pulling it from her purse.   
  
"Right. So do you want to share a car in to the set?" Spike asked, as he backed up towards his own door.   
  
"Sure. Um, I don't think I'll be eating before I get there, so how about we meet in the lobby at eight thirty?" Buffy asked as she opened her door.   
  
"Right, no problem. See you then. Have a good sleep." He told her softly.   
  
"You too." She replied, just as soft.   
  
Buffy closed her door tightly, as if hoping every ounce of strength she put into it would build her resolve against the bleached wonder in the room next to her. She walked into the bedroom, pulling off her clothes as she did and flopped on the bed in her bra and panties, thinking about Spike. She called the front desk to request wake-up call before drifting off the sleep, not even bothering to get under the covers.   
  
Spike mirrored her actions in his own room, except he stripped down to lay totally naked on his bed. Somehow he would have to resign himself to the fact that anything between he and Buffy wouldn't happen. She wouldn't allow it. Or wouldn't allow herself anyway. So he either had to break down her walls, or live with it. Live with never being near her, touching her, tasting her- _ok that's it. Spike Giles has never backed down from a fight, and that's that. So SHE will just have to live with it._   
  
Spike drifted off to sleep, dreaming of ways to get Buffy to fall for him. 

* * *

Spike's on the path to winning Buffy's heart. But will he succeed? (Duh- it's a SPUFFY fic... I have to throw SOME uncertainty into the mix)   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! 


	13. The Best Laid Plans

**Part 13:The Best Laid Plans**   
  
Part 13 up so soon! What's up with that? I'm working on part 17 right now, so hopefully updates should come a bit more regular now. HOPEFULLY. This Thursday I start to move into my new apartment and next Thursday I start school, so things might be a bit unstable for a bit, depending on how hectic things are. Look for more MLIT next though!   
  
Remember- reviews make Mari VERY happy! Also, remember to check out my site- w w w. still- believe . org / marishna 

* * *

The next day dawned bright and sunny on two very tired potential movie stars. They greeted each other in the lobby with acknowledging nods. Buffy clutched a cup of coffee as if her life depended on it, and Spike wore sunglasses, despite the fact that they were still indoors.   
  
"You know you look wicked conspicuous, right?" Buffy asked as they left the hotel for the car waiting for them. Spike grunted absently in reply, seemingly too tied and lost in thought to give much of a response. Buffy just shrugged and enjoyed the silence.   
  
Today was going to be odd, to say the least. They were friends now, yes, but the boundaries of that friendship had been tested, were constantly being pushed, and might shatter today depending on how hot the kissing scene they were supposed to shoot would get. It wasn't scripted as a sexy kiss, but with them, Lord only knew what would happen.   
  
When they got to the set, back at the motel, everyone was cautious around the two blondes, as if expecting them to implode on one another at a moment's notice. Wes, however, was overjoyed.   
  
"Look at you two, coming in together. And in one piece, even, with all your limbs intact and no visible scarring. I like what I see. I take it my experiment was somewhat of a success?" Wes asked as his actors, fresh from makeup, hair, and wardrobe, entered the set. They were to be soaked from head to toe after coming out of the rain so their hair was wet and messy. The plan was to pour a few buckets of water onto them before shooting started.   
  
"We can be in the same room together, for extended periods of time even," Buffy told the director, feigning pride. She shifted from foot to foot anxiously, wanting to get this scene over with.   
  
"Yeah. I even got her up on stage last night and she didn't even try to claw my eyes out," Spike joked.   
  
"Really? You sing, Buffy?"   
  
"No – "   
  
Spike cut her off. "Yes, she does, and very well." "That's interesting. Maybe we should consider the possibility of you doing a song for the soundtrack? Maybe even a duet with Spike, here? He's already doing three songs with his band for the album," Wesley suggested, oblivious to her discomfort.   
  
"No, I think I'll leave the singing to him and I'll stick to acting," Buffy told the men. _Great, yet another situation I get to fantasize about being with Spike in._ Buffy gritted her teeth and smiled tightly.   
  
Spike on the other hand, was enjoying watching her squirm. He wasn't tired in the least but had refrained from starting a conversation in the car and shielded his eyes to give himself a little quiet time to think and to make her wonder. He was also able to observe her without her knowing with the sunglasses on, and that was a plus. He could tell in the car that she was conflicted; from the way she bit her lip and kept looking at him nervously. She was confused about him, about them, and that made him very happy. At least he wasn't the only one scratching his head about what was going on.   
  
"Alright people, lets get this done. Get the water on them." Wes called out, pointing to Buffy and Spike.   
  
"Bottoms up, eh luv?" Spike asked with a grin. Buffy smiled back and let out a small yelp as the water was poured over her shoulders. It was warm but getting colder fast and seeped into her clothes as she shivered. Spike grumbled slightly as well but as soon as they took their places they snapped out of it.   
  
"You don't seem to get this, do you? There won't _be_ any money to give you unless we find my partner. And we can't do that unless you stop being a big baby and drive the damn car," Buffy started with the lines that they had rehearsed yesterday in the pool.   
  
"I _can't_ drive the car, and you know it. I'm a wanted car thief, in case you've forgotten." Spike threw his arms wide at her.   
  
"And I'm the one with the gun! Who's got who by the balls now?"   
  
"I don't care! Shoot me, it's not like I don't have dirt on you when the cops come to get me!"   
  
"Whatever." Buffy moved to go into the motel room, but was grabbed by the arm by Spike. He turned her around quickly, drawing a slight gasp out of her. He pulled her to him and slammed his lips on hers, barely giving her time to react. The kiss softened slightly, the passion obvious as she started to respond. Buffy was just getting into the kiss when Snyder yelled 'cut'. Spike released her immediately, not even looking at her.   
  
"Good. Let's take it again, from the top," Wes directed. Buffy took a couple steps back to her mark and took a deep breath. That had felt hot, but he wouldn't even look at her. Was this him telling her the first kiss was wrong? Buffy pondered this as the makeup people misted her more with water bottles.   
  
They did the scene again, and again Buffy felt the spark between them but Spike showed no sign of recognition or of encouragement. He released her immediately when Snyder yelled 'cut' and didn't even look at her, except in the scene. She knew of people that got into the character and tried not to be disturbed when they were in 'the zone' but this was _Spike!_ Last night he had been hot to trot for her, and this morning it was like she didn't even exist. Maybe they weren't going to act as friendly as they said they would. Maybe he was second-guessing their friendship- maybe he was second-guessing _her!_   
  
Over and over they kissed, and each time Buffy tried to get some kind of reaction from him – a look, a smile, any kind of acknowledgement that she was alive in his world, but got nothing. By the time Snyder had felt that he had enough takes of the kiss, Buffy was confused beyond belief. She walked away from the set to give herself a little time, biting her lip and wondering what had happened.   
  
Spike watched her go, pleased with himself for not giving into the kiss. He had wanted to, boy had he wanted to. But if she wanted to keep things strictly professional, then that is how things would be. The way she had reacted told him that it didn't seem like it would be that much longer before she caved and admitted to herself how much she liked him.   
  
"That was was rather- um… realistic, was it not?." Wesley came over to stand next to Spike. The blonde man just looked at his fellow Brit and smiled slyly and walked away.   
  
"Ready for the next one, luv?" Spike asked Buffy as he passed her, on his way to his trailer. She just stopped and watched his retreating form walk away, still completely confused about those kisses.   
  


* * *

  
The week passed quickly as more and more of the movie was filmed. Spirits among the cast and crew were high, which Wes credited to the improved relations between Buffy and Spike. No more kissing scenes were filmed right away which alleviated some of the pressure that Spike felt when he was around Buffy but they were in the close confines of a car for most of the week, filming some of the road scenes and their first encounter at the bank when Jake tried to carjack Laney.   
  
Buffy had gotten over her confusion of that first day back on set and the kiss, but something still felt off about Spike. There were no more offside comments about salacious things they could be doing, or gazes in her direction. No attempts to be closer to her than necessary and no more hints of kissing or being anywhere near her at any time. It was exactly what she had asked for and yet she felt utterly abandoned and rejected. This was stupid, in her mind, because there was nothing between them to be abandoned or rejected.   
  
_Right?_ Buffy asked herself the following Friday. _I'm getting worked up over nothing. I laid the rules down for him and he's following them. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing at all, in fact._ Buffy heaved a great sigh and went to take her place beside Spike on the stretch of road they were filming on.   
  
"So what are you doing tonight, luv?" Spike asked her as they waited for Snyder to start filming.   
  
"Sleeping. Much needed sleep. You? Performing again tonight?" Buffy scuffed her feet in the dirt and leaned on the car they were filming beside.   
  
"No, not this weekend. We're trying to perform as little as possible while I'm filming. It's too much work," Spike explained. Buffy nodded. "I thought that I would stay in for the night, catch up on some reading maybe."   
  
"Reading? What kind of reading?" Buffy perked up, eager to learn more about him.   
  
"Whatever's around, usually. I went through a good chunk of Shakespeare when we were on tour. I read bestsellers, obscure novels, magazines, poetry…. Whatever."   
  
"So what's the pick of Spike's book club this week?" Buffy asked   
  
"Um, well I'm reading…um…Harrypotterandthegobletoffire," Spike mumbled quickly. Buffy cocked her head.   
  
"What was that?"   
  
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Spike sighed as he said it. He was sure she would laugh at him for reading a kids' novel, after all the 'adult' material he had listed off.   
  
"I _love_ that book!" Buffy gasped. "My sister Dawn and I had a contest to see who could read it faster."   
  
'Oh, who won?"   
  
"Well, she did. But I was working. I didn't have a choice," Buffy waved her hand. "Wow, Big Bad's got a soft side."   
  
"Yeah, but I'd 'ppreciate it stayin' between the two 'f us, if you know what I mean." Spike looked around to see if any of the crew heard him. This was just the thing that he would get teased about mercilessly and it would get caught on a blooper reel when he least expected it.   
  
"Don't worry Spike. You're secret's safe with me." Buffy grinned at him. Spike smiled back, wanting desperately to reach out to pull her off the car and hug her tightly, to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. Luckily Snyder's barking voice cut through his thoughts and stopped him.   
  
"Alright, let's stop wasting time, people. Hurry up! Places!" Snyder took his spot next to the monitor and watched as one of the last scenes of the day unfolded, eager to get back to his hotel and forget this day, this place, these people. The crew scurried around him to ready the shot. "Congratulations, you have all proved more or less adequate," He muttered to himself.   
  
"Action!"   
  


* * *

  
"So what's up between you and Buffy, man?" Xander asked Spike as they walked towards the trailers.   
  
"What do you mean?" Spike asked with a grin.   
  
"Come on. You go away last week pretty much at death's door and come back all closer than close. Just wondering what happened in those two days to turn a Johnny don't into a Johnny do."   
  
"We're not _doing_ anything, if that's what you're getting at Harris," Spike told him, not wanting to start rumors like that about Buffy.   
  
"But you want to?" Xander asked Spike sighed and turned to him.   
  
"You're not going to let up, are you?"   
  
"I'm on a mission from Cordy, so no."   
  
"Cordelia? What's that bird got to do with this?" Spike gestured for Xander to come into his trailer when they reached it and the two sat at the small table.   
  
"Well, she's been noticing how preoccupied Buffy was this week and I just thought I would offer my services to inquire as to the – "   
  
Spike cut him off. "You're sweet on her, aren't you, whelp?" Spike asked, taking out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He lit one as Xander turned red and started to stutter.   
  
"Well, no- I mean… she's… I ….W-well," he sighed. "Do you think it's this obvious to Cordy?"   
  
"Absolutely no doubt in my mind. That's why she sent you here to scope out the information. You're her little lap dog now," Spike chuckled.   
  
"Do you think she likes me?" Xander asked.   
  
"Maybe. Women are a bit of an enigma, aren't they?" Spike puffed hard on his cigarette, thinking about one particular blonde he was trying to figure out and bait at the same time, not really knowing what he was doing. He knew that this week had been getting to her, making her doubt her decisions but he wondered if it wasn't going a little too far, pushing her away instead.   
  
"Ain't that the truth? So what is it? Got your own enigma there, Spike?" Xander asked. Spike sighed and threw his butt to the ground, stomping it out with his heavily booted foot.   
  
"Something like that. What do you think of Buffy?" Spike asked Xander.   
  
"She's pretty cool. I suppose you would know more about that than I would though."   
  
"What do you mean?" Spike asked.   
  
"Come on. You guys didn't just come back in one piece from Wes's experiment in friendship; you guys came back practically joined at the hip. Why haven't you made your move yet? According to Cordy, Buffy's just about pulling her hair out over you – in a good way."   
  
"She is?" Spike had to smile at this, ecstatic he'd gotten confirmation that his trial in giving her a dose of her own medicine was working.   
  
"So you are digging on her?" Xander asked, triumphantly.   
  
"Yeah, maybe a little. Don't know what's going to happen though."   
  
"I'm sure you'll think of something, Casanova," Xander clapped him on the shoulder as he stood up. "If Cordy has any say in it you guys will be together by the end of next week."   
  
"We'll see," Spike murmured, as Xander walked away to his trailer. "We'll see."   
  


* * *

  
"So what's the deal with you and that hottie?" Cordelia grilled Buffy as she changed from the tiny bathroom.   
  
"What hottie?" Buffy asked, emerging from the tiny toilet dressed in her own clothes.   
  
"Duh! Spike! Are you guys progressing well?" Cordy asked, almost bouncing in her seat and the small trailer table. Buffy sat beside her.   
  
"Progressing toward what?" Buffy asked, desperately hoping to avoid the whole conversation about her love life – at least when it came to one bleached wonder and her less than clean thoughts about him of late.   
  
Cordy shook her head. "Buffy, I swear, sometimes I think you just want to slay your love life and close yourself off from everyone."   
  
"It's worked in the past?" Buffy explained weakly.   
  
"Move on from the past then, open your eyes and wake up to the snotty British goodness you have at your feet, waiting to fetch you your slippers."   
  
"What?"   
  
"He's totally your lapdog!" Cordy screeched.   
  
"No, we're just friends Cordy," Buffy said with a shake of her head, not wanting to get her hopes up or confuse herself further over the state of whatever relationship she had with Spike right now.   
  
"Right. That's why I see him making moon eyes at you all the time, trying to get your attention, teasing you, making you wonder about him. I'd go after him myself, but it's not like he'd notice me anyway, not with you around."   
  
"Huh?" Buffy hadn't succeeded in trying to remain oblivious to the other girl's comments and was now thinking back on the past week for any signs that Cordy seemed to think he was giving out.   
  
"Oh come on Buffy. Spike's got a crush on you. He's totally in love with you."   
  
"No, he's not. I promise you. He's a friend now. That's all. Why can't _anyone_ understand that?" Buffy kept insisting.   
  
Cordy sighed. "Why are you so adamant in screwing this up? There is a guy out there, totally trying to get you to fall for him and you don't even want to see it. I don't know what this is about but you need to figure it out, spank your inner moppet and move on. I know you haven't exactly had the best of relationships, from seeing Angel, but if that's what's causing this total daytime soap opera trauma where you deny yourself what you really want then you have to snap out of it. Great guys like Spike only come around like once in _never_. He likes you, act on it."   
  
"I can't though. What is something goes wrong and we end up hating each other worse and then we ruin the movie?" Buffy replied, desperately trying to make Cordy understand her reasoning, and maybe trying to re-convince herself in the process.   
  
"You guys are _actors_ for Christ's sake. You'll get over it. Besides, weren't you ever a young girl and thought that when your true love came along you'd scale the highest mountain or swim in the deepest sea to get to him? Didn't you ever have that fantasy?"   
  
"Well, yeah. But I doubt Spike is my true love," Buffy said.   
  
"I bet he'd be good in the sack though. That would be good enough, wouldn't it?" Cordy said thoughtfully.   
  
"Cordelia!" Buffy shrieked.   
  
Cordy just regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh yeah, like you don't want to jump his bones."   
  
Buffy blushed but didn't deny it.   
  
"See? Look, he likes you. I don't know what you want to do with that information but I hope you don't deny yourself the great time that you could have with him, even if it's just for the next couple of months. At least it's a way for you not to get attached. Stop thinking about everyone else's wants and needs and think about your own. Got it?" Cordelia asked, standing up.   
  
Buffy nodded and watched the brunette leave her trailer.   
  
"See ya later."   
  
Cordelia had made a lot of sense with her speech. It was high time that she started living for herself and quit worrying about others expectations and their views. But when that went for her career, it was hard for her to think that way.   
  
Then again, two months wouldn't hurt, would it? If things didn't work out they would likely never see each other again beyond this movie.   
  
_At least it's a way for you not to get attached,_ Cordy's words echoed in her ears. Buffy sighed and laid her head in her hands. _Great, blow my career off, get involved with a totally inappropriate man and then get attached. I have a flair to do the complete opposite of what I should… damn. There is no way I can get involved with him. None._   
  


* * *

  
"Buffy, you need to get laid."   
  
"Willow!" Buffy yelled into the receiver at her best friend/manager. "You're supposed to be trying to cover up my tawdry affairs, not _cause_ them! "   
  
"Kind of hard to cover up non-existence. Look, I saw the pictures of you and Spike at the club and you looked pretty cozy."   
  
"No, no, no," Buffy moaned, burying her face in her hands yet again.   
  
"Something wrong?" Willow asked.   
  
"I just don't get why everyone is so persistent in trying to interfere in my self-imposed chastity, especially when it comes to one Spike Giles."   
  
"You've taken a vow of chastity?" Willow asked, confused.   
  
"No, but I think I should when it comes to Spike," Buffy sighed and slumped onto her bed, pulling the covers over her. It was just after nine and Buffy was so tired that she was ready to turn in. She had to call her best friend before she could turn in though to try to alleviate some of her conflicted feelings before sleeping on them.   
  
"Has something happened? Or will happen?"   
  
"No, I don't think so. I won't let it," Buffy explained.   
  
"Why the hell not? I may be gay but I know a hottie when I see one," Willow said.   
  
"Because he's my co-star, Will. And I'm trying to focus on my career right now. I can't go off all willy-nilly with a co-star," Buffy told Willow, trying to reaffirm her own convictions.   
  
"Willy-nilly? Ok, Buffy, you _really_ need to get laid. I don't care if it's by Spike or some random guy, just get some and get over it."   
  
"Willow Rosenberg!! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Look, I appreciate that you're so concerned with my love life but honestly; can't a girl just take some down time from guys? Can't she just want to be friends, platonic, everyday, no pressure friends?"   
  
"Buffy, it's me. Your best friend. You can't give me that bullshit and expect me to believe it. You like him, don't you?"   
  
Buffy sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes."   
  
"Then what's the problem?"   
  
"Us! This! The movie, my career, the fact that in two months he'll be gone off on another adventure." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.   
  
"Maybe this is your adventure, Buffy," Willow told her softly. "Who says that every relationship has to last for a long time? I know you're scared, Buffy, but you have to stop living your life that way. You have to stop hiding behind your career and start facing up to real life."   
  
"I know, Will. But it's hard, you know? I just- don't know what to do," Buffy slumped farther down on her bed.   
  
"Do what feels right. Don't push it, but don't pass up a perfect opportunity to be happy just because you are worried about tomorrow or next week or something, ok? Promise me you won't hide anymore?"   
  
"I promise to try," Buffy offered. Willow sighed but accepted. They talked for a little while longer, arranging a time to get together for lunch and for Willow to come to the set. Just when they were about to hang up Willow remembered something she meant to bring up.   
  
"Oh! Buffy, I need to talk to you about something before you go."   
  
"Shoot."   
  
"I've been checking out your fan mail, and FYI there has been a noticeable increase since you started this movie, and even more since last week when people saw you with Spike, so you're gaining a fan base," Willow told her.   
  
"Well woo for me! Yay fans," Buffy said tiredly, but internally excited at the thought of people liking her.   
  
"Yeah, that's the good news. I came across a couple letters and cards that were a little… well… odd to say the least. I just don't know what to do about them."   
  
"Odd how?" Buffy asked, sitting up.   
  
"Just very obsessive. Could be an over zealous fan, or it could be a precursor to something more serious. Do you want me to notify the police?" Willow asked.   
  
"Nah," Buffy shook her head to herself. "Keep them around, but if there are any more tell me and we'll go from there. I'm sure I have more than one odd fan out there, given my roles of late. He's probably just a Trekkie fan who liked my Vulcan turn."   
  
"If you say so," Willow replied. Finally they finished their conversation and hung up, allowing Buffy to sigh contentedly and sink back into the bed, dropping the phone on her stand. She relaxed, allowing the tension to ease out of her body.   
  
*RING* Buffy's eyes snapped open at the doorbell. She looked at the clock and groaned, then grumbled to herself at being annoyed about not being able to go to bed at nine-thirty in the evening. When had she become such an old maid?   
  
She stumbled out of the bed and shuffled to the front door in her Yummy Sushi pajamas and bare feet and opened it without checking to see who it was. It was either going to be hotel staff or the one person she was dreading for two different reasons- because he was the bane of her existence and because she was hot for him. It was the latter.   
  
"'lo luv. You've got a TV, right?" Spike brushed past her into the suite and directly to the bedroom. Buffy closed the door and leaned her forehead against it for a brief moment before following him. When she got to the bedroom he had taken possession of the remote control and was flipping through the channels.   
  
"Spike? What exactly are you doing here?" Buffy sat on the bed and watched him.   
  
"Trying to find _Passions_. Bloody brilliant show. We get the 24-hour soap channel here."   
  
"So why aren't you watching it in your room?" she asked.   
  
"My set's screwed up. The connection got fried or some deal. Can't use either of them," Spike explained.   
  
"The hotel can't fix them?" she asked.   
  
"Luv, it's almost ten o'clock at night. Everyone's in bed."   
  
Buffy groaned at this and hid her head in the pillows.   
  
Spike looked at her curiously. "Are you okay, pet?"   
  
"I'm fine. Just tired."   
  
Spike finally took notice of her attire, the pajamas and the rumpled bed and realized that his scheme to get closer to her had gotten her out of bed. "I'm sorry, luv. I didn't know that you were asleep. I can go." Spike put the remote down and moved to the door.   
  
Buffy remembered Willow's words and spoke up. "No, that's okay. If your show means that much to you, you can watch it. I don't mind. I can be a rebel and stay up past ten." Buffy joked.   
  
Spike smiled and picked the remote back up. He walked to the other side of the bed and stretched out.   
  
Buffy just gawked at him, not believing that the object of her trauma for the past month and a half was lying on her bed.   
  
He caught her look and smiled inwardly. "Is this okay, luv? I can go to the living room," he offered, kicking himself in the next moment because she would probably tell him to go.   
  
Buffy yawned and sunk down under the covers, shaking her head. "It's okay. I'll probably fall asleep anyway. But you don't have to go. Watch the TV as long as you want. I can sleep through anything."   
  
"I've no doubt," he smiled at her. He turned the channel to the Soap network and for the first little while Buffy watched as well, asking questions here and there about who was who and what was going on. She had never been into soaps and was slightly surprised that Spike was but not as much as she would have been a week ago.   
  
Spike cast the occasional look at Buffy as they watched the show. He answered her questions happily, not caring what they were talking about as long as they were talking about something other than movie stuff. This seemed to be a big accomplishment, her allowing him into her room, her bed. He wasn't sure if this scheme of his would work or if it was foolhardy but he was getting to know her and she was getting to know him- with any luck soon she would feel she knew him enough to fall into his arms. Or like him enough. According to Xander's accounts from Cordelia that might not be that long.   
  
Buffy's talking had slowed as he thought, her questions becoming infrequent. She was in the middle of asking one question when she dragged off, causing Spike to look over at her. She was fast asleep, her face turned towards him so she could see how peaceful she looked. He glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was almost eleven. She had stayed up for almost the whole show, which may not have seemed like much of an accomplishment to other people but she had been active in his interest. Or maybe she was confused by the storylines and needed clarification- either way she had stayed attentive and then felt comfortable enough to fall asleep with him in bed with her.   
  
He turned off the TV and straightened her blankets as he left the room. Unable to resist he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the top of the head, smiling. He turned off her light and let himself out of her suite, not sure of he would sleep that night. 

* * *

Little by little SPike is breaking down Buffy's defenses. Will she cave completely? Find out in Part 14: In the Name of Progress   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! 


	14. In the Name of Progress

* * *

**Part 14: In the Name of Progress **   
  
P.O.R.N! Sorry, there isn't actually any porn in this chapter. I got everyone all hot and bothered for nothing, didn't I? But this IS a new chap and updated at a somewhat reasonable time so go me! MLIT 3 has been started and is coming along, but as promised I am posting a new AOI chap to tide people over. Please don't kill me. To find out why you might read on... (And reviews are your friend!!).   
  
Remember to check out my site w w w. still- believe . org / marishna for future faster updates. Also check out h t t p: // always. still- believe. org/- it's an elite Spuffy AU site with great fics! Go support it and it's authors! 

* * *

"What's this?" Buffy asked, looking at the CD she held in her hand.   
  
"It's the autographed album that I said I would get for you last month before we ventured into the Bermuda Triangle of hatred and back out." Spike told her. They were in a car headed towards the set, still at the motel but this weekend was to be their last there if they wanted to keep on schedule.   
  
"Really? Everyone signed?" Buffy asked, excited as she opened the case. Indeed, all of the guys in the band had signed. "Thanks. I had forgotten all about this. This is great."   
  
"Glad you enjoy it. Now you can learn the songs and hum along with us when we perform, maybe come up and sing with us." Spike nudged her and grinned.   
  
Buffy swallowed and willed her heart to calm down from it's racing pace. "Are you asking me to come see you sing again?"   
  
"Course." He smiled at her, genuinely. "Always enjoy having a pretty girl in the audience. Besides, if we start tanking we can pull you up to calm the masses."   
  
"Oh no. I am leaving the singing and dancing to you and your boys. That was my one and only brush with music." Buffy shook her head.   
  
"You should think about it, you know. You could be the next J. Lo." Buffy snorted at this. Spike appraised her and added, "Course, you'd have to get a bigger 'booty', or so they say."   
  
Buffy stared at him, open-mouthed for a moment before she burst out laughing. "I can't believe you just said that!"   
  
Spike reddened slightly and stuttered as he tried to say something before Buffy shoved his arm lightly. "Big Bad's embarrassed, that's priceless!" Spike chuckled along with her.   
  
Thus began one of the easiest weekends of filming they had had so far. Saturday flew by quickly, each of the scenes being filmed with little interruption. Buffy and Spike were true professionals in front of the camera and inseparable when they weren't shooting. Wesley watched them all day, elated at how well they were getting along and noticed little hints that they were slowly circling each other for a bigger step, something to progress them past friendship. He knew that they were both nervous, Buffy more so than Spike, even though he was very cautious about approaching her for fear that he would alienate her. But from what he saw she would be very receptive towards his advances. Passion seemed to be in the air all over the set as he had also seen Cordelia and Xander checking each other out. She had finally lost interest in him but he couldn't say that he was disappointed. She was nice to look at, and somewhat of forbidden fruit but they had quickly found out there was no chemistry there. _Better luck next time, mate,_ he thought to himself and turned his attention to viewing some of the dailies.   
  


* * *

"You missed a great cliffhanger last night, luv," Spike told Buffy as they sat down at a table near craft services for lunch. "Luis was just about to choose between Beth and Sheridan."   
  
"Oh, god. I'm sorry. I thought I'd fallen asleep. Why didn't you wake me?" Buffy asked, arranging her food.   
  
"Why would I? You were tired, I was the one that barged in to monopolize your TV." Spike explained.   
  
"At least someone's getting some use out of it. I don't think I've had it on once since I've been here. It just pains me to think that you saw me when I was asleep. Which Buffy did you meet last night? Drooling Buffy, snoring Buffy or mumbling, grumbling Buffy? Was there mumbling? Oh god, did I talk? What did I say?" Buffy asked, nervous that she may have said something about him in her sleep.   
  
"Ah, so you're telling me I can know all your devious secrets through your REM cycle? I'll have to remember that. And no, there was no talking. If you had divulged anything I would just keep it all up here," he said, pointing to his head. "You know, for future blackmail purposes or something of the sort." Buffy just rolled her eyes at him, picking at her salad.   
  
"No," he continued thoughtfully. "You looked so peaceful, hair all fanned out, barely breathing, not a flaw to be found. You looked like an angel, with wings you can't feel and a halo you can't see, flying above us all."   
  
Buffy just stared at him, motionless. Spike stopped talking abruptly, "Wha'?"   
  
"I swear, if you could bottle that talent of yours and sell it you'd be the richest guy in the world."   
  
"What talent?" Spike asked, confused.   
  
"Your words. You just have this knack of how to say what things and when. You must be the writer in the band."   
  
Spike let out a short laugh. "Not bloody likely, luv. Charlie's more the man for that. I tend to use big three dollar words like 'effulgent', not what hit singles are made of."   
  
"Maybe you should give it another try. Because to me it seems like every other sentence out of your mouth is poetry." Buffy ducked her head to her salad to avoid his gaze, which was astonished, then lit up from her praise.   
  
"Maybe it's not me, but the inspiration I have." Spike replied lightly. Buffy didn't respond, still enthralled by her salad but inside she shivered.   
  


* * *

"Alright, that's a wrap for today. Be back tomorrow ready to work like you all did today and we might get done early." Wes told the cast and crew as they started to disperse for the day who gave up a general cheer at the thought of a short day tomorrow. "And remember, next Monday we have off but Tuesday it's a closed set to all non-essential personnel."   
  
Buffy groaned inwardly. There, in her script, was the reason for the closed set. Her first love scene with Spike. It's not that she wasn't looking forward to it though, quite the contrary actually. She just didn't know how to approach it. Would they talk about it before hand? Would it affect how she thought she might feel about him? How did she feel about him? Did he like her? And if he did would she like him back or did she want to stick with her original plans of remaining relationship free so she could concentrate on her career?   
  
Maybe she was cookies. She was all dough-y and not done baking right now- she wasn't formed into what she was to become. But when she was done, when she became a baked good she would be ready for that next big step. Ready for someone. Or maybe it was really sad she was making excuses for her fright over trusting another guy.   
  
_I really do need to get laid, _Buffy thought as she walked to her trailer.   
  
"Buffy!" She heard her name yelled from across the lot.   
  
"Spike!" she yelled back at the blond as he ran up to her. He smiled as he approached, and instantly she knew he wanted something.   
  
"So, you're not doing anything tonight, luv?" He asked, slightly out of breath from sprinting to catch her.   
  
"No…" Buffy replied curiously.   
  
"See, I'm not expecting the hotel to have fixed my television, what with it being Saturday and all and I was wonderin' if I might impose on you again? If you have other things to do, I under-"   
  
"No! I mean- I'm free. It's all good. What were you planning on watching tonight?"   
  
"S'Trading Spaces night," he told her, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Spike managed to leave Buffy speechless yet again and for the third time that day.   
  
"What'd I say this time?"   
  
"It's just- you're such a contradiction."   
  
"How so?"   
  
"You have this image- tough, gruff, out of control- that everyone believes. But then you look just a little bit closer and you're really this… Teddy bear!"   
  
"Hey now! I'm the Big Bad! _Still _the Big Bad!"   
  
"Big Bad teddy bear. You're a poet; you watch soap operas, like redecorating. I'm so glad I got to see this side of you. It makes me feel all the worse for misjudging you at first but so lucky that you gave me a second chance."   
  
"Yeah, well it's pretty amazing to be able to know you better too, you know." Spike replied, almost shyly.   
  
"Alright. So what time does this show start?" Buffy asked, changing the subject.   
  
"Early enough that you'll have lots of time for your beauty rest. Sides, I want to be there to hear all your little secrets that may come spilling out." Spike sidled up closer to Buffy and smirked at her. Buffy felt a hot flash go through her at his nearness and blushed. Spike drew even closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Maybe you'll say something interesting about me?"   
  
Buffy blushed even harder and was very relieved when he pulled away abruptly. "Alright, luv. I'm off."   
  
"You're not going back to the hotel?" Buffy asked, taking a steadying breath that she hoped wasn't obvious. She should call him on that remark, on him being that close to her but she couldn't do it. Not knowing full well how much she liked having him near, how much she liked being around him, how much she wanted to kiss him….   
  
"No, I have some stuff to do with Charlie. But no worries, I'll be back to watch my show." Spike replied. Buffy told him she'd see him later and started off towards her own trailer. He watched her walk away, in her black outfit with the hip hugging pants, ass swaying as she got farther away. He gave himself a mental shake and turned to go back to his trailer when a voice interrupted him.   
  
"She's something, isn't she?" Angel emerged from the shadows behind the motel where the trailers and craft services were set up.   
  
"What's it to you, Peaches?" Spike immediately went on the defensive, wondering what Buffy's ex had to say.   
  
"Nothing, really. Just making sure she's ok. Just making sure she isn't getting into something she can't handle."   
  
"Again, what's it to you?" Spike asked angrily, as his hackles rose.   
  
"Well you know, I have some history with her. We had some good times."   
  
"Yeah, before you screwed her over. You're such a bastard; she's a great woman. Guess you were to blind to see it." Spike cursed himself for even having this conversation with Angel. Why was he even bothering to listen to the poof, all he wanted to do was hurt Buffy.   
  
"But you aren't, are you, my boy? You're ready to jump in there and defend her with your last breath. Be the hero for her. What could possibly make you, the bad boy of rock and roll stick up for the little princess? Hmm? Can't be her charming personality, seeing as how she cold cocked you, being the spitfire that she is. Know what else she is though? She's the best damn little cocksucker in the world. That's what it is, isn't it? You know what it's like to-" Angel didn't get to finish his tirade as he was grabbed by the lapels of his jacket and shoved up against the wall of the motel. Spike was shorter and significantly smaller than Angel, who was beginning to get a bit paunchy around the middle, but he had pinned the bigger man against the wall so his toes just touched the ground, propelled by anger.   
  
"I don't know went down between the two of you and frankly I don't give two sodding fucks about it. You don't know anything about that girl, Peaches, and you never will because she's so much better than the likes of you. You're crawling at her feet, trying for a crumb, a morsel- something to give you hope because you screwed up. But she's so much smarter than you, and you know it. So don't try to cover your fucking puffy ass by talking shit about her. I guarantee you will regret it." Spike spoke quietly and calmly, his eyes flashing, knuckles white from gripping his jacket lapels. He could see a flash of fear in Angel's eyes and felt confident enough to let him down. Spike stepped back and straightened his shirt, keeping one eye on the bigger man who slumped against the wall for a moment.   
  
"I can see now why you and Dru hooked up. You're both insane." Angel wheezed. Spike looked at him with disgust.   
  
"You like the crazy ones, the ones who are weaker than you, don't you? They're easier to follow you around, think that you're some kind of champion, a bloody poof with a soul?"   
  
Angel just laughed. "They just find me. Seek me out. I give them what I want. And what does it say about you that you went for her first?"   
  
"What does it say about you that you like my sloppy seconds?" Spike retorted, ready to walk away.   
  
"Not much more than you. Seeing as how you have mine." Angel braced himself for more abuse.   
  
"Actually, mate, she's better than me too. And even if I did get her, she'd never be 'sloppy seconds' cause she's first in whatever she does. Just too sad that you figured that out too late. Cause you'll never get another shot at her," Spike told him softly as he walked away, leaving Angel to think about his bad choices.   
  
Spike walked back to his trailer, finally, and collapsed in a chair. He didn't know what had come over him. But Angel made him snap. Everything he said was true though. Buffy was too good for Angel, she was perfect and beautiful and amazing… no-one's second choice for anything, unless you were a complete poofter, like Angel.   
  
_She's even too good for you, mate. But if you play your cards right you might get to see just how unworthy you really are,_ Spike thought, taking out his cigarettes and lighting one up.   
  
"I need to talk to Charlie." He muttered, picking up his cell phone. "He'll know what t'do."   
  


* * *

"You need to get laid." Charlie told him, point blank over a beer and a plate of nachos an hour later.   
  
"'Scuse me?" Spike asked, almost choking on a chip.   
  
"You've got yourself all worked up over this girl. She's got you running hot, then cold and now you're all… tepid. She's all temperature Buffy. You need to knock your expectations down a little. Go out and get laid." Charlie explained.   
  
Spike just looked at him with a disbelieving look on his face. "Who are you and where did my best friend go? Why are you sayin' this?"   
  
"Look, I'm sorry. It's just- this girl has you all tied up in knots and for what?" Charlie explained.   
  
"For her," Spike said simply.   
  
"I just don't want to see you get hurt again, man. After Dru you were… it wasn't pretty, ok? I just don't want her to lead you to the lions den to be gobbled up again."   
  
"I 'ppreciate your concern, really do Charlie. But Buffy isn't like that. She's… so much more."   
  
"She seemed nice when I met her, I guess."   
  
"She is. She's better than nice. Bloody fucking amazin'. She brings out this… need in me. I feel alive when I'm around her, like I could go ten rounds and run a marathon. She makes me a man, Charlie. She's awoken the man in the beast. I don't think I've felt this way since Dru. Maybe even before that. Maybe ever. She's that special." Spike waved his hands around, trying to prove his point. "I don't even know if I stand a chance with her. I don't know if she'll ever let me into her life, let alone her heart. But I'm going to try my damnest to try. She makes me feel like a better man."   
  
"Could she be The One?" Charlie asked, trying to flesh out exactly what his friend's feelings were.   
  
"Not sure. I'm just excited by being her friend. By knowing her. Even if nothing ever happens between us, I'm glad to have met her." Spike took a drink of his beer. "She makes me think, challenges me. She makes me want more."   
  
"So how are things going with her then?"   
  
"Better. We're watching TV together tonight. And you know what? That's the most perfect thing I could do with her." Spike explained. "I can be near her, almost touch her, just look at her. It's nice. I like taking things this slow for once."   
  
Charlie was silent for a few moments before leaning forward to speak. "Like I said, that thing with Dru, that was harsh. I was really worried about you. And you did the groupie thing which was normal but that didn't seem to make you happy at all, not even for a little while. And now this. This…." Charlie trailed off, trying to find the right words. Spike picked at his nails nervously, no black nail polish to peel off by decree of the movie heads. He realized he really was concerned by what Charlie thought about Buffy. He and Charlie had been friends for a long time and respected one another but had never consulted the other about women. This time his opinion meant something to Spike.   
  
"Charlie?" Spike asked. "I'm not sure I've ever seen you so worked up over something. So passionate and alive. It worried me because after Dru I wasn't sure you'd ever be the same. And then this girl comes along and you're head over heels for her." Charlie paused. "I don't think I've ever seen you happier and to tell you the truth I don't know if anything else could make you this happy. What is it about her that's brought this on?"   
  
Spike smiled and without thinking replied, "She's my equal in every way. She not only makes me feel like a better man, to try to BE a better man."   
  
"Don't let her get away then."   
  
"I'm gonna do my best."   
  


* * *

"It hasn't started yet, has it?" Spike asked as he stepped in the door to Buffy's suite. She was in her room, on the bed and had just called for him to come in. She had already changed into her pajamas, a slinky camisole and pj pants, having taken a bath in jasmine scented oils. She also dried and fluffed her hair a little and put on a little mascara and lip gloss. On the prowl? Her? Nah   
  
"I don't know what channel it's on. I don't think I even know how to work this damn thing." Buffy replied, picking up the remote and studying it. Spike grinned and took it from her, turning the TV on and to the right station. Without asking he sat on the other side of the bed, unlaced and toed off his boots and stretched out on his back. He was wearing his trademark tight black jeans and a gray button-up shirt that hid his muscles to the unsuspecting eye. Buffy was positioned more towards the middle, with a small throw on her lap. She didn't want to get under the blankets right away, instead choosing to be mobile for whatever might… occur.   
  
"Do you ever watch this, luv?" Spike asked.   
  
"I think I might have seen it once or twice. I'm kind of out of the pop-culture loop. Why do you watch it?" Buffy asked.   
  
"Just like the show, getting ideas for things that I could do if I ever get a place."   
  
"You don't have a home?" Buffy asked.   
  
"I was going to rent a place in New York, but then I got this movie and there was no need. I imagine I'll try to pin down a permanent address when the movie is over, depending on what happens. But who knows?"   
  
"Are your parents still back in England?" Buffy asked, wanting to talk to him and learn more than watch the show. Spike noticed this and sat up, propping himself against the headboard to he could look at her.   
  
"Yeah, Da and Jenny. Da is a librarian and Jenny is a teacher." Spike told her.   
  
"Jenny?" She asked.   
  
"My mum died when I was three. Da remarried when I was seven."   
  
"Oh. I'm so sorry." Buffy told him.   
  
"It's ok. She had cancer quite bad so it was a blessing for her. Jenny's been my real mom all my life, even though not in name."   
  
"That's good then. What's your dad like? Is he quite liberal?"   
  
Spike snorted slightly at this. "Not quite. Da's very straightlaced. Don't get me wrong, love him to death but I swear I must have been adopted. What can you expect from a name like Rupert, though, right?"   
  
"Rupert. That's a nice name. " Buffy smiled.   
  
"Glad you like it. I almost became Rupert Randy Giles the second. Luckily mom talked him out of it. I would have been screwed either way, with a name like Rupert and a middle name like Randy. I would have been Rupes or Horny Giles." Buffy burst out laughing.   
  
"That's horrible! I don't know what a fate worse than that would be. Oh wait- being named Buffy." She rolled her eyes and laughed again.   
  
"How did you get named Buffy?" Spike asked.   
  
"You know what? Mom never really told me. I asked her a couple times but she just kind of avoided me. She probably had a rabid childhood cat named that or something and that's what she told them to name me while she was under the influence of the epidural." Spike chuckled at this and they sat in a comfortable silence, half watching the TV, half watching each other.   
  
"You know what, Summers?" Spike asked a couple hours later as the second episode ended.   
  
"What's that?" Buffy asked him, struggling to keep from yawning. She didn't want to fall asleep tonight and start drooling as she likely did last night.   
  
"It's to bad we couldn't have worked past ourselves last month. We would have had more time for this."   
  
"More time for TV?" She asked teasingly.   
  
"No," he said, swatting her playfully on the arm. "More time with each other, to get to know one another, to just be together."   
  
"That would have been nice." Buffy replied softly.   
  
"Yeah, it would have." Spike said just as softly. He reached out to tug on a lock of her hair. Instead he twined it around his fingers and played with it.   
  
_Like spun gold, flax in the morning sun but burning as brightly as fire in the night illumination. _ Spike thought absentmindly as he watched the hair run through his fingers.   
  
Buffy sat still, letting him touch her hair, stroke it. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until he looked up at her and let her hair go.   
  
"Well. The show is over, and you need to get off to bed, eh?" He told her quickly. Buffy exhaled as he sat up on the bed and started to put him boots on. He didn't bother to tie them, just shoved his feet in them and stood.   
  
"This was fun. We should do it again." He told her, making his way to the door in a hurry.   
  
"OK." Was all Buffy could say as he left. She slumped back on the pillows and stared at the still on TV. She turned it off and pulled back the covers to get in bed. A scent hit her and she leaned over to where he had been laying. Burying her face in the pillow he had been using she inhaled deeply, enveloping herself in a scent that was his aftershave, shampoo, gel and just him.   
  
Meanwhile in Spike's room he laid his head against the closed front door and cursed softly.   
  
"Yeah, I like taking it slow. When she isn't so goddamn tempting!" With that he stripped off his clothes and got into bed, thinking only of her in her pajamas and golden hair.   
  


* * *

"Are you two going to be ok Tuesday for the love scene?" Wesley addressed both Buffy and Spike in the morning. Buffy was again holding a cup of coffee and Spike was stifling a yawn, the aftereffects of a night of dreaming about Buffy walking in the sunlight. Then Charlie would pop in every now and then and push him towards her with a handful of condoms. Spike wasn't sure if that was because Charlie told him to get laid or because he wanted to haul Buffy into a dark corner every time she smiled at him. Which was a lot of late.   
  
"We'll be fine, mate. The day off will do us more good than you know. Give us some time to rest and psyched up." Spike told him.   
  
"You have to get psyched up to get into bed with me?" Buffy teased, slapping his arm lightly. She blushed when she realized what she said. "Well, I mean- I- it's not-"   
  
"I get it, luv." He left it at that, walking away quickly to cool down. This was getting to be too much. Maybe Charlie was right. Maybe he was building her up in his mind and it was causing him more harm than good. But he couldn't just pick up some random girl to go have sex with, he was beyond that. SHE was beyond that, which brought him back to why he was doing this to begin with. For her; to try to be a better person for her. HE wanted to prove to her that he was above simple sex and groupies and the rock and roll lifestyle. He could respect her wishes. He just didn't know for how long.   
  
Buffy stood, wondering if she should go after him. He looked almost pained when he walked away. They were friends now. Which is what she wanted. Or so she thought. Now that they were getting along great she was very happy but the more she got to know him the more she liked him. And the more she liked him the more she wanted to jump his sexy bones. Why couldn't he be gay? Or have ingrown toenails or halitosis? _Maybe he's got backne? That would be a turn off, right? Ooh! And webbed feet- that would be weird! Maybe his eyes are contacts and that's why they're so blue and he got cheekbone implants to look so gaddamn sexy. FUCK! Why do I have to be so goddamn prissy and be 'friends' with him? Why couldn't I just have said- sure, I'll ride you like a stallion, you big hunk of glistening man-meat._ Buffy wracked her brains trying to think up one logical excuse for why she got him to back off. _ Because it's not right to treat someone like a vending machine. You can't expect to push a button and get what you want all the time. These things take patience. And if that had happened you wouldn't have known what a great guy he is. He deserves that. He deserves to have someone know how special he is, what a good man he is and keeps striving to be. _   
  
Buffy sighed to herself and straightened her shoulders, walking over to where Spike seemed lost in thought. She tapped him on the shoulder to snap him out of his daze. "Ready to go to work?" She flashed him a big smile and walked off to the set, leaving him staring at her.   
  
_It's going to be a LONG day, _Spike groaned to himself and followed her, thinking about trees, stinky cheese and fluffy kittens to keep his body from reacting to her.   
  
It didn't work.   
  


* * *

"Kill me now." Buffy groaned as they drove back to the hotel in a car. Spike patted her hand. It was almost eight o'clock and they had been filming almost non-stop all day.   
  
"Tomorrow's a day to rest, luv. And I can't imagine Tuesday will be_ that_ much work." He laughed. Buffy blushed for the trillionth time that day, wishing she could stop.   
  
"No, I don't think it will be." She replied, not meeting his eyes. An uncomfortable silence filled the car then, both wondering what the other was thinking about Tuesday and their love scenes.   
  
"Want to have dinner? In the hotel restaurant?" Spike asked.   
  
"I was actually planning on just ordering some room service after a long bath. I hurt from all that sprinting." Buffy replied, referring to the scenes they shot that day.   
  
"I can imagine. I suppose I'll do that too. Just lounge. What are you planning on doing tomorrow?" He asked.   
  
"Sleep. Much sleep. You?"   
  
"'Bout the same. Maybe we could get a late brunch?" He asked.   
  
"Sure. That sounds good. French toast with strawberries and a tall glass of orange juice." Buffy told him. "Mom used to make that for me and Dawn all the time when we were younger."   
  
"Sounds nice. We'll have to get that for you tomorrow then."   
  
"Yeah." Buffy and Spike stared out their windows until they got back to the hotel. They rode the elevator in silence, the tension between then thick enough to be cut with a knife.   
  
"So um… guess I'll see you in the morning then?" Spike asked when they reached her door.   
  
"Guess so. You know- um, if you wanted, I mean… if you need anything this evening you can call, or pop over or whatever. You now, if you want." Buffy told Spike hesitantly.   
  
Spike broke out in a huge smile. "Will do luv. Will do. You have yourself a good night, you hear?"   
  
Buffy nodded and watched him walk to his suite as she opened her door. She ducked inside and gave a huge sigh of relief. "I'm such a dork," she muttered.   
  


* * *

She didn't really expect him to show up. She honestly didn't. If she had she wouldn't have worn such a short nightie to bed. She would have put on pants or something of the like, so as not to embarrass herself. She also would have done something with her hair rather than just pile it on top of her head in a messy bun. So when she opened the door at almost ten o'clock she was turning red again to see Spike standing at her door with a bowl of popcorn in his hand, a bottle of champagne and two glasses. His hair was a little mussed up from not doing much with it when he got out of the shower. He was also in track pants and a t-shirt, which was a pleasant surprise for her.   
  
Spike almost dropped his champagne glasses when he saw Buffy standing on the other side of the door. She was wearing a skimpy little nightie that looked like it would be from Victoria's Secret and didn't even fall to her knees. Her hair was pulled up but bits and pieces fell out of her holder to float around her face, elongating her neck and calling him to kiss it.   
  
"Are you busy?" he asked stupidly.   
  
"What? N-no. I was just sitting around. Please, c-come in." Buffy stuttered.   
  
"I called the front desk and asked about the pay-per-view movies they had so maybe we could rent a couple and have an easy night in. I even brought popcorn, as you can see." Spike said, waving the bowl awkwardly as he stepped over the threshold.   
  
"Oh, let me get that." Buffy took the bowl from him so he could carry the champagne and glasses easier.   
  
"Thanks, luv. I also had room service bring up some bubbly. Thought that it might be nice, kind of our own little gourmet picnic. That's if you don't mind. I just barged in again, didn't I? It's late and it looks like you were-"   
  
"No, no." Buffy said quickly. "It's fine. This is nice. Really." She smiled softly. "I can't think of a better way to spend my night."   
  
"Alright then." Spike smiled shyly at her and looked down nervously.   
  
"So what is there to watch for movies?" Buffy asked moving to the bedroom. She picked up the remote and looked at it with the same confused look she had the night before and then handed it to Spike who laughed at her.   
  
"We just have to pick from this list," he said turning the TV to the pay-per-view station. "And then we call the front desk to order them. So what are we up for? Drama, romance, horror, comedy?"   
  
"Horror. At least then I'll stand a chance of staying awake through it. Won't be able to sleep." Buffy laughed.   
  
"Well, 'The Ring' is playing. I hear that's pretty creepy."   
  
"Guess we'll find out." Buffy said as Spike used her phone to call the desk. In a couple minutes they were curled up on the bed, Buffy with the throw wrapped tightly around her so her nightie wouldn't ride up, close enough that their shoulders touched. They had the bowl of popcorn between them and their hands would touch every few minutes, sending shivers through each of them. Spike had poured them both a glass of champagne when the movie started, which Buffy gulped down quickly to soothe her nerves from being around him but the second one remained almost untouched as she got more engrossed by the film.   
  
Spike had a hard time concentrating on the movie with Buffy being so close. He could hear her breathe, smell her shampoo, feel her soft skin when their hands touched. It was driving him mad. Luckily the lights were off and she couldn't make out the bulge he had in his pants. This went on till later in the film when the female character was in a house trying to talk with a man about the origins of the tape that killed people after they watched it. Buffy had been edging closer to him inch by inch throughout the movie when scary things happened but when he electrocuted himself Buffy shrieked and buried her face in Spike's shoulder.   
  
"That scary, huh, luv?" Spike whispered to her.   
  
"Oh my god. That was horrible." She replied, her voice muffled. She turned her head carefully back to the screen but didn't move, instead adjusting herself so she was leaned more comfortably against him, her throw covering them both now. Spike didn't complain, instead wrapped his arm around her and held her close for more of the scary scenes.   
  
Finally when the movie was almost over Spike could tell something was going to happen. "I don't think you should watch this part luv, if you want to sleep tonight. I think it's going to be pretty scary." He whispered to her. She didn't respond. He pulled back to look at her and saw that she was fast asleep, curled into his side, one arm around his waist.   
  
"Oh, Buffy. What you do to me." He whispered to her, kissing the top of her head. She didn't stir. He sat and watched the rest of the movie, rolling his eyes at the ending. When it was over he looked down at her, wondering how he could disentangle himself without waking her. He tried to move her arm but she tightened it around his waist and snuggled in closer. He sighed and sunk down into the bed a little more, content with where he was but a little worried about her reaction in the morning.   
  
_At least I'll get a little piece of heaven for right now,_ he thought as he drifted off to sleep. _ Just a little._   
  


* * *

Buffy awoke the next morning feeling warm and a little bit dozy. She stretched slightly and wiggled her feet. When she did they hit something. Another person something. She tensed, feeling the arm around her waist and the hard chest pressed up against her back. Someone was spooning her! She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of shock white hair. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was just Spike but then tensed again. _ Spike? What the hell is Spike doing in my bed?_ She thought frantically. _Who cares? He's here, he's hot and he's holding you,_ the other part of her mind told her.   
  
Spike mumbled slightly in his sleep and pulled her with him as he rolled over. She curled into him, wanting to enjoy this a little longer. If this was all she got from him then that would have to be enough. She wanted him though. She wanted him bad. No matter what. But what could she do?   
  
Spike mumbled a little more in his sleep, and then opened his eyes, staring straight into hers. He blinked a couple times, trying to remember where he was and how he got there. Trying to imprint the feel of her body on his, her legs next to his, her hands on his t-shirted chest.   
  
"Hi." Buffy whispered, lids heavy from sleep, her hair tousled in a sexy way. Spike raised a hand to her cheek, which she leaned into.   
  
"Hi." He whispered back. They stared at each other, not wanting to speak and break the mood. Buffy fought with herself back and fourth, trying to decide whether to get out of bed and get her day started or to stay here and look at him all day. _To hell with it, _she thought and leaned down.   
  
Spike's eyes widened as he watched her lean down to him. He had been worried when he woke up that she was going to get angry at him for being in bed with her but when she didn't say anything all he wanted to do was hold her and look at her, content with doing that all day. But now- now he wanted more.   
  
"Spike…." Buffy breathed. 

* * *

You all want to poke me with sharp objects don't you? Sorry 'bout that but it's the way the cookie crumbles! Long chapter for some pain and suffering. LOL. Look for more soon in Part 15: Morning Glory   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! ** Review me! **


	15. Morning Glory

* * *

**Part 15: Morning Glory**   
  
Woo! Cliffhanger over! *wipes sweat off brow* I was ready to go into hiding, so many people wanted to chop me off at the knees for that last chap. But here it is, safe and sound. I've also gotten through chapter 17 and am a chunk into 18! So woot! MLIT will be next however, so watch for that! Ten millions thankies to Magz for being the best beta ever!   
  
Check out my site, Avant-Garde, at w w w . still-believe . org / marishna!   
  
Enjoy and REVIEW! 

* * *

"Buffy…" Spike whispered as her mouth came down to lightly caress his. So light that he couldn't even feel her mouth and wondered if she was even kissing him. To prove that she was, she let her tongue drift out of her mouth and skim his lips gently, wetting them.   
  
Spike kissed back tentatively, not knowing what was going through her head. He didn't want this to turn out to be a momentary lapse of sanity on her part because it certainly wasn't for him. This is what he had wanted since the very moment he had met her. When she rested her body on her elbows and threaded her fingers through his hair to pull his head closer he threw away any worries he had and kissed her back wholeheartedly.   
  
Buffy gave herself up to him and pushed away any outside thoughts, ideas or sounds just so she could enjoy herself, for however long this would last. A nagging doubt in the back of her mind remained. What would he say to her when he decided he liked her better as a close friend, as they'd been for the past week? She closed her mind off to the doubt. Spike was kissing her, and she didn't care about anything else.   
  
Spike groaned into the kiss and rolled them over so he was lying over her and able to look down at her. They broke away from each other and just looked into each other's eyes, before he touched his forehead to hers. Buffy slowly ran her hands up and down his back, loving the feel of him over her, his muscled back flexing softly. She found the edge of his t-shirt and slipped her hands underneath when he didn't pull away. He kept his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes until her nails lightly scraped up each of his sides, drawing a shudder from him as he jumped slightly.   
  
"Hey now," he rasped. "Don't get any ideas."   
  
Buffy's eyes twinkled back at him. "Me?" she asked, smiling innocently. "Get ideas?"   
  
"Right. I'm sure you don't have some evil plan cooked up in there." Spike smiled down at her and tapped her forehead gently. He dragged his fingertip down over her nose to her lips, which he traced absently, before kissing individually – the top first, then the bottom. Buffy was rendered breathless from his touch, as soft and delicate as it was.   
  
"I'm always innocent." She whispered, drawing his face back to hers.   
  
Spike smiled against her mouth, amazed by this creature in bed with him. She was sexy, forward and had thrown her inhibitions to the wind, at least for now, but he could worry about that later. After the kissing.   
  
Buffy let her hands slip out from under his shirt and grip the edge. Before he knew what was happening she had pulled away from him and stripped the t-shirt off him allowing her unrestricted access to his muscular upper body. She rolled them so she could lay over him, and caught Spike off guard again. He didn't protest though, instead he enjoyed her taking the lead.   
  
She smiled to herself as she splayed her hands over his chest, feeling his heart pounding under one and raw heat underneath both. Spike made no move to hide his skin from her, or to disguise his hard breathing and pounding heart. Soon she would feel the biggest evidence of his desire, and he wasn't one to deny the obvious.   
  
Buffy began to kiss her way down his smooth chest. She began at his neck, across his collarbones, down his pecs to one nipple that she caught between her teeth. His breath quickened and he moaned a little as her tongue moved over the rapidly hardening nub. She let it go and grinned at him, before returning her attention to the nipple. She blew on it to cool it where she had licked it before biting it again, drawing another moan from him. Spike's arms wrapped around her and dragged her up his body once more, intent on ending her torture of him.   
  
"Someone's got a weak spot," she murmured against his lips, still grinning.   
  
"And someone's got an amazing mouth," Spike replied before engaging her lips in another kiss, this one soft and drawn out. When they pulled away from each other Buffy rested her forehead against his again and closed her eyes, wondering how this could feel so right after all of her hesitations and denials and talks with him about professionalism and friendship.   
  
"Buffy?" Spike asked, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. Their legs tangled beneath the throw, which had wound its way around both of them.   
  
"What are we doing Spike?" she asked, lifting her head to look him in the eye.   
  
"We're sayin' good morning," he replied.   
  
Buffy laughed. "Okay, just how many people do you say good morning to this way? And why aren't you this…" Buffy searched for a word to explain his amorous early-in-the-morning actions when she felt how active he was as she shifted on him. "…awake, shall we say, everyday?"   
  
"First of all, I say good morning to everyone. It's just that they get the lip service whereas you get the lip," he kissed his way down her neck lightly, drawing giggles from her. "The tongue," he licked his way back up her neck to her earlobe. "And the teeth service," he finished, nipping gently back down her neck to her collarbone, which left her shivering. "And secondly, I'm 'awake' as you put it now and not most normal mornings because on those mornings I don't wake up next to and get attacked by a beautiful, sexy nymph who wants to tear my clothes off."   
  
"I didn't attack you! I didn't rip any clothes off you either!" Buffy exclaimed. Spike looked down at his naked chest pointedly, causing Buffy to blush. "Okay… maybe a little with the ripping. But I didn't attack you! If anything the attacking was mutual!" She giggled, tickling him in the side. He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from their bodies so she was sprawled on his chest. He leaned up to kiss her when she pulled away again and looked at him.   
  
"Wha'?" he asked, his lips pursed and ready to kiss.   
  
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked, his comment replaying in her mind.   
  
He shrugged as if it were obvious. "And sexy to boot, don't forget. Don't you look yourself in the mirror every morning and say 'I'm beautiful and a sexy bitch'?"   
  
"Um, not usually. Do you?" she asked.   
  
"Course. Got to keep the self esteem up," he replied.   
  
She laughed. "You're such a dork." She pulled her hands from his, then framed his face with them, her thumbs stroking his cheekbones. "This is nice."   
  
"So, you were here with me?"   
  
"I was," Buffy replied.   
  
"So," he started again, covering her hands with his. "What does this mean?"   
  
"I don't know. Does it have to mean something?" She asked.   
  
"No, not right now. You're right. This is nice. Have to admit, been wondering how I could give it another go with you. After the whole being friend's thing you talked to me about and such. Which is fine! I really like being your friend, cause once I got to know you – "   
  
"Spike," Buffy interjected. "Shut up." With that said, she covered his mouth with hers again. He groaned as her tongue slipped into his mouth again and he rolled them so he was lying over her once more. Buffy snaked an arm around his back to hold him close, as close as she had been wanting to for a while. Spike's mind soared with the realization that she was holding him tightly against her, initiating the kisses, making the moves. Sure, things could change later, but for now, he was helpless to her wiles.   
  
Buffy's stomach let out a mighty gurgle then, jarring them both. _Or maybe to her appetite,_ Spike thought with a smile.   
  
"Sorry," she offered, looking genuinely contrite. "Guess it couldn't wait."   
  
"That's right. We have a date for brunch." He was actually excited to say it even though there was nothing more he would've liked to do today than stay in bed with her. But, to be able to say the word 'date' without her rolling her eyes was worth it too.   
  
"Come on." Buffy crawled out from underneath him and out of bed, tugging her nightie down to preserve some modesty. Spike took a couple deep breaths to will himself to relax, especially the more 'awake' part of him before rolling out after him. Buffy ran into the bathroom as Spike stretched, wondering how long it would take her to get prepared.   
  
"Ready," Buffy chirped a minute later when she emerged, in pj bottoms and a t-shirt, blue hooded sweatshirt and her hair back in a baseball cap. Spike just gaped at her. Buffy shoved her cell phone in the pocket of her hoodie, then grabbed his hand and tugged him to the door. "Come on. Food is a'waiting!"   
  
"We can't go yet!" Spike exclaimed, pulling her back. Buffy stared at him with her hands on her hips.   
  
"And why not?"   
  
Spike gestured to himself as if the answer were obvious. When Buffy shook her head at him, not understanding, he sighed. "I look like I just got out of bed, luv. My hair," he said dramatically, pointing at his head, "is awful."   
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "You're going to tell me that the Big Bad, the macho, beefy, strong manly man can't go to breakfast without having his hair done?"   
  
"Well there might be people there. Can't have them seeing a music superstar all disheveled," Spike defended.   
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "Spike, wanna know something?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"It's very sexy. All messy like that. Which does remind you of getting out of bed, which reminds people of what one does in bed… could be a new look for you," Buffy told him.   
  
"Don't think so luv. The only reason I'm doing this is because you might go all Xena on me if you don't get fed and watered," Spike teased, tugging on his t-shirt that he found in the bed.   
  
"You make me sound like livestock!" Buffy grumbled.   
  
Spike laughed and caught her by the waist as they walked out of the room. She tensed slightly and then relaxed into his arm, not knowing what to do now that they were out of bed, as if it had been a safe zone for them to do what they wanted.   
  
Spike noticed her hesitation as he led her from the suite and wondered if she was regretting things. He understood why she had tensed though, he was as confused as she was. They'd hated each other at first sight, then fallen in like, and now… It was a lot to try to work through. He'd be damned if he would screw it up now, though. He didn't want to push her and end up ruining things, so she could make the calls. And he could only hope she made the right ones.   
  
"You know," he said as they got on the elevator, "we could have ordered room service and had breakfast in bed to sate your hunger."   
  
"Yeah, but what hunger would you be hoping to sate while in that bed, Mr. Giles?" Buffy teased.   
  
"Dirty mind you have there, Summers!" he exclaimed.   
  
"No worse than you, Mr. Innuendo." She poked him in the side lightly.   
  
He laughed and then grew silent. "I want to kiss you," He whispered, scared she would say no.   
  
She smiled shyly and wrapped her arms around his waist, offering her lips to him. He leaned down and kissed her gently, sweetly. When they broke apart, a tiny sigh of relief escaped him. He was happy that the spell that had fallen over them in her bed had not worn off.   
  
"So," he began as they separated. "What is… this?" He gestured between the two of them.   
  
Buffy thought for a second. "I'm not sure. I'm still – I have reservations, I guess. Not about you," she added quickly, seeing his gaze shift downward. "Just that I've been fighting this for so long, and now… here we are, doing what I have been telling myself is beyond wrong."   
  
"So?" Spike wasn't sure what that last statement meant. Was what they now had, wrong in her eyes? Did it make her feel guilty?   
  
"So, I don't think we can properly define this or say one way or another, what we expect. We haven't really had the most conventional relationship anyway, what with the high profile circumstances, and then the hating and the fighting and hitting and all that. All that I know is that when I woke up this morning I had the choice between getting out of there and stopping everything or staying and seeing what would happen. But I can't say that I'm sorry about that."   
  
Spike nearly sagged against her with relief. "So we're… really good friends?" He smiled at her as Buffy laughed lightly and nodded.   
  
"I think that's a safe estimate for right now. I don't think it's fair for either of us to put a label on this, one way or the other, and have expectations for things that may never happen… you know?"   
  
"I think so. We just let this progress as it does and not worry about making grand gestures?" Spike asked. He understood her hesitation, even though it bothered him a little. He knew she was scared, he was too, but he couldn't help but wish for a more concrete promise. Hell, he'd even take a 'maybe someday' right now and be satisfied. But if this was what he got, he would take it willingly and gratefully.   
  
"Yeah. That sounds good. And in the meantime, we're good friends." Buffy smiled up at him. He smiled back and reached for her hand, which he squeezed as the doors opened.   
  
They walked to the dining room together, holding hands in silence, instead enjoying the unexpected turn of events and the lazy morning. They went through the buffet line together, giggling over the French toast for no reason at all before Spike led her to a table secluded by a couple potted trees so he could keep her all to himself.   
  
"So, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Buffy asked after a few minutes of quiet while they ate. Spike looked thoughtful as he chewed and swallowed.   
  
"Not nervous so much as unsure of what to do, or how to do it, or how to approach it. Filming love and actually _making_ love are two very different things. I'm not so worried now about getting into bed with you, seeing as how I've already been there," he said, smirking at her. She rolled her eyes at him with a smile. "But it'll be harder with people watching. I'm a little scared that I won't be able to pull it off… that I'll freeze up."   
  
"You're telling me that the great Romeo, Spike Giles, could freeze up in bed?" Buffy asked in mock disbelief. "Trust me, you will do great. You have this_ way_ about you. As if the very moment the cameras turn on you melt away and you're replaced by your character. It's remarkable, really. And you're right, it is different filming a love scene. It can be off-putting to fake passion, especially when you have to do it over and over, with people watching and interrupting all the time, but in another way it's easier because you can detach yourself from the situation and not worry about getting caught up in the moment."   
  
"I don't know about that, luv. It doesn't matter if I'm in bed or not, I seem to get caught up in the moment a lot when I'm around you." Buffy blushed as he went on. "So you've done this before?"   
  
"A couple times. I had a bit part in a movie and for _Demon Hunter _I had to do one or two." Buffy laughed at the scowl Spike got on his face at her response. "Let me assure you though, I don't just jump into bed with every co-star I have. Just one or two… or three."   
  
"Yuk it up, luv." Spike frowned until Buffy reached over the table and squeezed his hand.   
  
"I'm a little nervous about tomorrow, just so you know. Cause I've never done this with someone that I liked before. To tell you the truth, I don't think it will be hard for me to fake the passion with you. That's never been a problem," she confessed.   
  
Spike felt his breath hitch in this throat as he looked at her. "That's one of the very best things you ever could have told me, Buffy. I feel the same way about you," he said softly, squeezing her hand back. They smiled at each other over their French toast breakfast, the air crackling between them. Just as Spike was prepared to stand up and sweep her off her feet with a mind-blowing kiss, fellow restaurant patrons be damned, Buffy's cell phone rang.   
  
She shot him an apologetic look and grabbed her phone to answer it. "Hello? Willow! Long time no chat! Where have you been? … Sure, sure. Excuses, excuses. … I know. Yeah, I've kept busy." Buffy smiled at Spike at that statement. "Oh? That's odd. No, I'm not scared by it. It's just some weirdo with a strong interest in my movies and me. … Fine, bring them and let's take a look at them. When will you be in town? … Today? … Well, no. I was just planning on… doing stuff," Buffy looked at Spike who was laughing at her and becoming aroused at her choice of words. He nodded though and waved at her to make her plans. She smiled weakly at him and reached for his hand again. He squeezed it as she finished her call.   
  
"So this afternoon? ... Just give me a shout before you get here so I know you're coming, okay? … Yeah, things are going… well between us…" Buffy blushed slightly, not looking at Spike, and he knew they were talking about him.   
  
"Alright, see you later then." She ended the call and turned back to him with a frown. "I was looking forward to having a day with you."   
  
"It's fine, luv. We're going to be all over each other tomorrow. She's your agent; you need to see her. Isn't she an old friend of yours too?" he assured her as they finished their breakfasts.   
  
"My oldest and one of my dearest. Been there for me since grade school," she explained.   
  
"Is she just comin' to check in with you, see what's going on?"   
  
Buffy frowned again. "Not quite. The visit is all business, the seeing old friends thing is just a perk. Seems like I've been getting some wiggy fan letters so she wants me to see them so I can determine if we want to go to the cops. Which we don't. I'm so sure I have a stalker or something," Buffy chuckled but Spike regarded her seriously.   
  
"Buffy you really shouldn't take this lightly. This could be the work of some deranged fan, who wants to get into your knickers. How many letters have there been?" He asked.   
  
Buffy shrugged. "No idea. Guess I'll find out... but I'm sure it's just Willow overreacting. She does this sort of thing a lot."   
  
"Please, at least _try_ to take this seriously? I've had my share of strange fans. If they're harmless then the letters just go into a file at the police station for future reference, just in case. I keep a copy for my own files and we don't respond to them. They may be no threat most of the time but every once in a while there is the nutjob that slips through. Did you tell Willow about that guy at the club the night we performed?" he asked. From Buffy's guilty look he knew the answer. "Summers! Smarten up, would you?"   
  
"What? He was just some guy wanting a date. It's okay." Truth was it all scared her and she didn't want to deal with it right now. She just wanted to burn the letters and forget about the guy from the club. She was sure there was nothing to worry about. There couldn't be. No one would stalk her.   
  
"You're telling her about it, and that's it," Spike told her firmly. When Buffy tried to protest he shook his head and cut her off. "No! And that's final. Just say there was this guy who was wonky at the club, tell her his name and anything else you can remember. The letter person and this club guy might be one in the same. I just don't want to see you get hurt. Not just when I've found out what a great kisser you are."   
  
Buffy gave him a small smile. "Alright. I'll tell her, twist my arm already." She leaned across the table and motioned for him to do the same, catching his mouth in a chaste kiss.   
  


* * *

"Wills! It feels like it's been forever since we've seen each other!" Buffy exclaimed, to the petite redhead. Spike stood back after a quick introduction as they two girls hugged and chatted for a few minutes, not wanting to interfere.   
  
"I'm sorry it's been awhile, especially since you're my most favorite client," Willow teased Buffy. "But this IS business. I've brought the letters for you to look at. I've talked to a few other people who have dealt with this sort of stuff and they all say this isn't something to be neglected."   
  
"It isn't," Spike spoke up for the first time, both girls looking at him, surprised as they'd forgotten he was there. "And the letters aren't the only thing that's been going on."   
  
Buffy gave Spike a murderous look but he just shrugged in response. "Sorry, luv. I'm not leaving this to chance."   
  
"What's he talking about Buffy?" Willow asked. Buffy sighed and led the redhead over to the living room so they could talk. Willow sat in the armchair while Buffy and Spike sat in the loveseat. Together and close, Willow noted pleased. Then she turned back to business. "Well?"   
  
"Okay. You know about a week back when Spike and I had to spend time together, and that Saturday I went to the club with him to watch his band perform?" Willow nodded. "Well later that night I was waiting for a cab outside the bar, Spike had run back in for something. I was waiting and some guy just came out of nowhere and asked me out, was saying weird stuff about Spike and how he wasn't any good and how I needed someone to treat me right. He was just really creepy. I was on the plane with him when I came out here to film the movie too. He had remembered me from there, saw me at the club and wanted to talk to me. He was odd, yes, but I doubt this is enough to call out the National Guard."   
  
"I'd beg to differ, Buffy." Spike said seriously. He turned to Willow and addressed her instead. "This is the way these things start. A letter here, a weird visit there and all of a sudden you have a full-fledged wanker on your hands."   
  
Willow nodded again in agreement. "I know. These letters are odd, Buffy. There are quite a few too, I really think we should do something about it." She opened her bag and pulled out a stack of envelopes the size of a tissue box and handed them over to the two blondes. Buffy's eyes widened when she saw how many there were.   
  
"When did these all come? My god Willow, when I talked to you a couple weeks ago you said you'd only gotten a few!" Buffy exclaimed, opening one up. Spike took one as well and unfolded it.   
  
"These have all just started coming in the past week or so. Up to five a day. Most have an LA postmark, but some are Iowa. I don't know if there are two people or what but they're getting increasingly vulgar and threatening. I don't like it." Willow told her. Buffy didn't respond, reading instead.   
  
"This one isn't so bad," Buffy told her, referring to the letter she was holding. "They just sound like a fan."   
  
"They're ordered from earliest to latest, top to bottom so the weirdest ones are on the bottom," Willow explained, her ordered nature coming out. Both Buffy and Spike pulled a new letter from near the bottom of the stack and started reading that instead.   
  
Buffy's mouth dropped open as she started to read. "This person is perverted! And rude! I mean, sure, he loves me but THAT isn't cool. 'I want to take you far away from here and lock you up somewhere where I can look at you, smell you, fuck you until you can't stand and then you'll love me the way that I love you. I'll make you see how good it can be.' Wow. Issues, much?" Buffy tried to laugh it off but shuddered, obviously shaken.   
  
"This one isn't any better, luv," Spike told her, more pale than usual. "This isn't your run of the mill fan mail, Buffy. This is serious stuff. You need to go to the police with these."   
  
"I just can't get over this. I mean, this isn't a fan at all. They're just weird." Buffy threw her letter back on the pile and handed the whole stack back to Willow. "I can't read anymore. Tell the police and give them those. What can they do anyway?"   
  
"They'll open a file, take any new ones we get and try to track this person down. They make some blatant threats in some of the letters so it's not a case where we can only wait and see. This person is unhinged." Willow shoved the letters back in her bag.   
  
"Give her everything you know about that guy from the club too," Spike urged her. Buffy did so, trying to remember every little detail. She seriously doubted that it was him though, just because these letters were severely disturbed and the guy from the plane and the club was just a goof who liked her. Right?   
  
"Ladies, I'd love to stay and do girl talk but I think it's best that I leave you alone," Spike told Buffy and Willow as he stood. He leaned down and kissed Buffy on the head. "I'll be in my room. It was nice to meet you Willow."   
  
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit," she told him as he walked out of her suite.   
  
As soon as the door closed, Willow squealed and launched herself over to the loveseat, eager for the entire scoop. "Well? What's going on?"   
  
"We're… really good friends," Buffy laughed, giving her the answer they'd decided on that very morning.   
  
"Buffy!" Willow groaned, hitting her friend lightly on the arm. "I'm you're really good friend but you don't see me kissing you, or the air between us being thick with sexual tension."   
  
"We didn't_ kiss,_ Wills. It was a 'see you later' kiss. It wasn't even a kiss. It was a… a brush. And there's _no_ sexual tension and there will be no cutting of it."   
  
"Oh my god! You already slept with him! You tramp!" Willow yelled, bouncing in her seat. "Is he good? Is he big? Is he hot naked? Oh, what do I care? I'm gay. Spill!"   
  
"Willow, I swear to you, I didn't sleep with him. We've just….come to an arrangement. A decision. A mutual understanding."   
  
"Jesus Buffy, it's sex with a hot guy, not investing in high-yield bonds." Willow laughed. "Seriously, you guys are good?"   
  
"Better than good. Stellar. Amazing. Hot. Fun. We're _everything._ He's nice and sweet and kind and talented and he makes me think on my feet. Hell, he _knocks_ me off my feet. Literally, sometimes," Buffy gushed.   
  
Willow laughed at her, happy to see her best friend so excited. "That's great, Buffy. It's about time something happened between the two of you. The way things have been building I expected someone to find you going at it in a random broom closet or else trying to kill each other with meat cleavers."   
  
"Believe me, at times it's been a hard choice. He's incredible though. I'm glad this happened. I've been fighting this for so long and now that it's happened I think I've been – "   
  
"Stupid? Insane? In denial?" Willow supplied.   
  
"All of the above? We don't have a label for what we are and that's great. I don't want to define this. It's about time Buffy Summers got her head out of the sand and started living life, right?"   
  
"Hear, hear!" Willow clapped. "Exactly. This is what I've been telling you Buffy. You've been kind of a prude lately. Just let this happen. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't. You had a great experience, right?"   
  
"Right," Buffy replied but inside she wondered,_ But what if it DOES work? Can I let him go?_   
  


* * *

"So this is goodnight?" She asked as they walked to her room, hand in hand. They had just returned from dinner downstairs, having not left the hotel all day. Willow had stayed for a couple hours that afternoon and then Spike and Buffy talked out on his balcony, cuddling and sharing a kiss every now and then.   
  
"I think so. We've had an… exciting day, wouldn't you say? And we'll be in bed together _all_ day tomorrow, so sleeping apart wouldn't kill us for one night, would it?" he reasoned.   
  
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know. I'm coming to depend on you as my sleep-aid, you know. You're like my big, cuddly teddy bear to curl up with every night," she told him seriously.   
  
He scowled at her. "For sayin' that, you don't get a goodnight kiss." He dropped her hand and started to walk away before she dragged him back, laughing.   
  
"Big Bad teddy bear, how about that?" she asked him. He considered, and after some creative pouting on her part, he agreed. "Kiss please."   
  
He obliged, happily before letting Buffy go reluctantly. She leaned against her door, watching Spike as he backed up towards his. They took out their keycards and swiped the locks at the same time.   
  
"Night," Buffy called. Spike blew her a kiss in response. Both walked into their rooms with a sigh and looked at their beds with heavy hearts, thinking of the warm body on the other side of the wall.   
  


* * *

She walked down the hallway to his room, unsure of how he would receive her. He had told her no but maybe he would reconsider? Maybe.   
  
She knocked lightly, not sure if he would hear her. He did.   
  
"What?" He snarled as he opened the door. She jumped back a little at his response and also at his attire. He was shirtless. Just jeans. With chest and no shirt and almost naked and …chest. She swallowed hard.   
  
"I – I uh – " she stuttered.   
  
"You what? You can't hear properly? I told you goodnight, you go to your room, I go to mine, hard concept? I didn't think so." He tugged her inside and slammed the door, making her jump again. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"I'm sorry!" She yelled at him. "I just wanted to see you. I was lonely and tired and thought that maybe I could sleep here. I didn't know you'd be so angry to see my face. I'll leave then!"   
  
As she turned to go something snapped in him. He was beside her in two strides, pushing the door closed that she'd opened. "No."   
  
"Well what is it? Yes or no? Stay or go? Cause I'm here. I don't know where you are, but I'm here. Where I want to be." She whispered to him. He was close. Amazingly close. She could see his stubble, smell his soap, feel his heat.   
  
He lifted a hand to her cheek and caressed it, softly. She gasped slightly at the barest touch. Taking this as encouragement he leaned down and caught her mouth in a light kiss. He backed off, giving her time to refuse him. She didn't. He kissed her again, harder this time, and allowed his tongue to slide between her lips. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. His hands found the hem of her shirt and slipped underneath, splaying on her back.   
  
She arched into his touch, letting her hands grab his hair to pull him closer. They raked down his neck and back, leaving marks, he was sure. He let his hands drift around to her sides, loving the smooth skin there.   
  
"God, so hot, so soft…" he gasped.   
  
She moaned into his mouth and returned, "I want you so much!"   
  
His hands tickled their way up her sides, sending her into convulsions.   
  
She pulled away and doubled over and for a moment he thought he'd hurt her.   
  
… until he heard a strangled snort come from her.   
  
"Bloody hell, Summers! You're a sodding menace!" Spike laughed at her, hauling her up so he could look into her laughing eyes.   
  
Wesley sighed from offset and smiled at the couple. "Cut!" 

* * *

Wasn't that better? It wasn't smut everyone was, I'm sure, PINING for, but it was something, right? Wonder what happens next? Check it out in Part 16: Give As Good As You Get   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! ** Review me! **   
  
Back to Marishna's Fiction 


	16. Give as Good as You Get

* * *

**Part 16: Give as Good as You Get**   
  
And then there was AOI. Here it is, part 16. I'm still slaving away at 18. Look for more MLIT next, or so I hope. Magz is a goddess for being a terrific beta and wonderful slasher!   
  
Enjoy and REVIEW! 

* * *

"Buffy, can you throw your leg over Spike's hip there? Yeah, that's good. Go from there and let's see what happens," Wes directed Buffy and Spike the next morning on set. Buffy smirked at Spike and did as she was told, relishing in doing so. Filming the love scene so far hadn't been that bad. The crew was being very professional and Spike was making her feel very at ease, joking and laughing to her.   
  
"Alright, guys, start kissing and we'll go from there," Wes told them. Buffy laid her hand against Spike's chest and giggled quietly as his finger tickled up her side just a little. They leaned in together and started with a chaste kiss. Wes yelled action and Buffy was lost in directions and cues from both the director and her own mind. She wanted this to be realistic but she wanted to try to keep herself separate from the action too.   
  
"Spike, roll her a little so she's under you and then pull back and gaze into her eyes," Spike did this and Buffy felt her breath leave her body as his eyes stared into hers. "Say your line,"   
  
"Laney, are you sure?" Spike/Jake asked huskily. Buffy/Laney cradled his head in her hands and leaned up to kiss him softly.   
  
"My whole life has been waiting for that right moment, the perfect opportunity, the proper time- screw it. I'm not waiting for anything ever again. I'm making the perfect moment. You make me feel like I can do anything... like it doesn't matter what happens tomorrow as long as we have this second to live right now. Love me, Jake," Buffy/Laney told Spike/Jake as she gazed into his eyes, smoothing his soft hair away from his face.   
  
"Cut! That was perfect, guys. Stay right there, we're moving on. Just a second." Wes told them as he stepped away from the monitor for a moment. Buffy and Spike relaxed but didn't break their position. Spike sprawled out over Buffy with her leg wrapped around his hip.   
  
"Quite the compromising position you're in here, Miss Summers," Spike indicated to their situation and her tiny top. They had wanted her to wear pasties but Buffy had balked and complained to Wes. This was, after all, a PG-13 movie and the odds of the majority of her chest being seen were slim to none as there was no nudity. So they had let her wear a tiny flesh colored half tube-top and flesh colored boy-cut panties.   
  
"No worse than you, Mr. Giles," she laughed at him, letting her hand drift down between them to snap the top band of the VERY skimpy briefs he wore. He blushed slightly and pulled her hand from between them.   
  
"That's a very naughty place, Summers. Don't want to be fooling around in there." He growled at her. She just laughed again as her eyes sparkled at him.   
  
"I'm sure if you wanted it to be it could be a very NICE place." she taunted him. Before he could come back with something Tara came in to do a touch up on their make-up. But Buffy knew she hadn't gotten off that easily. She could feel exactly how _nice_ things could get in his briefs as she felt him harden against her leg. She shot him a smug glance as Tara approached.   
  
"H-hey guys. Doing okay? Lights too hot?" She asked as she patted some powder on Buffy's t-zone.   
  
"We're doing ok. Day's still young though, pet." Spike commented. Tara nodded in response.   
  
"Hey, Tara," Buffy started as the young woman moved to Spike. "You're not seeing anyone, right?"   
  
"Well, er- actually I'm g-" Tara started hesitantly. Buffy waved her hand and cut her off.   
  
"Oh, I knew that. That's why I'm asking. See, I have a friend who's been single for a while and she's the best. I mean, seriously, she's my best friend. I was just wondering maybe if you weren't seeing anyone that I could give her your number or you could come out with us some night and meet her, if you want that is," Buffy added hastily. Tara worked at touching up Spike's make-up with a thoughtful look on her face before she turned to Buffy.   
  
"Is it your manager? The redhead?" She asked, curiously as she studied Buffy's face intently, making sure she was even.   
  
"Yeah! Do you already know each other?" Buffy asked as Tara snapped her make-up bag shut.   
  
"No. But I've seen her around a couple times, very quickly and I knew who she was. I wasn't sure if she was gay too, but I wondered. I- I thought of maybe, sometime asking you about her." Tara told them in a rush. Buffy's face lit up when she heard this.   
  
"That's great! I can set something up! If you want me to, that is." Buffy offered. Tara gave her a small, excited smile and nodded.   
  
"That would be nice. Thanks Buffy," Tara started to walk away, grinning when she turned and crouched down to the blondes to whisper to them. "Um, I have a question for you two now. People have been wondering, and with things that I've noticed today- well… are you two together?"   
  
Buffy and Spike looked at each other before Buffy smiled at Tara. "We're really good friends." She told her, which was hard to do with a straight face while feeling Spike's very noticeable erection digging into her thigh. He shifted slightly, to try to adjust himself and drew Tara's attention.   
  
"Spike? Are you ok?" She asked, referring to his uncomfortable frown.   
  
"Um, yeah. Muscle cramp." he told her. Buffy almost burst out laughing at him trying to be discreet.   
  
Tara, however, gave a knowing smile and winked at Buffy. "Right. Well, I'll get going now. Good luck with that uh… cramp, Spike."   
  
"I thought you said love scenes were easy?" He grumbled. She shook her head slightly and laughed at him.   
  
"No, I said that to fake passion can be off-putting and that sometimes one can separate themselves from it because it's so direction oriented. You were the one who said that you thought you might get caught up in the moment. Guess you were right." She couldn't help but tease him.   
  
"You're horrible, you know that? Here I am, uncomfortable and in an awkward state- in my first love scene no less! And you make fun of me! You're going to get it later." he threatened.   
  
"Oooh. Sounds kinky. What am I going to get?" She taunted him more. He gave a quiet growl and leaned down to kiss her, forgetting where they were and that they were just 'really good friends' to anyone who asked. Luckily, Wes came back right then and stared barking out directions at them. Spike winked at Buffy instead who shivered internally at promises of later.   
  


* * *

"That's a wrap folks!" Wesley called out to the sparse cast and crew by five that afternoon. Both Buffy and Spike breathed a sigh of relief to have that day over, to finally be able to go home and be alone and to drop the 'just friends' façade- even though half the crew was giving the duo knowing looks by the end of filming.   
  
They crawled out of the bed and took the white, fluffy robes that were offered to them by a stagehand quickly, covering up their barely clothed bodies and tied the belts tight. They avoided each other's eyes, feeling almost as awkward as they would in a morning after scenario.   
  
After Spike's arousal from their situation, it had been harder for either actor to focus on the fact that they were in bed together for work and nothing more. By the end of the day both blondes were very riled up but a bit wary of the new intimacy this had brought them. A day in bed making out with a potential significant other, for whatever purpose, would change the dynamics of the relationship.   
  
"Buffy, Spike! Great work today, you guys pulled through like troupers. I was worried that you two might hold back on some of the stuff but you did great! Be ready for tomorrow, prepared and refreshed, alright?" Wes told them in passing, on his way to go do some on the spot editing and viewing of the dailies. The blondes just nodded and gave another sigh of relief in unison.   
  
"Am I hallucinating or is this kind of weird now?" Spike asked as they walked off set. Buffy fiddled with the belt of her robe for a moment before answering.   
  
"I think it always was weird, this just adds a new dimension to the weirdness."   
  
"So we're ok?" He asked, still not sure how or it today had affected them. They weren't technically together and given their 'good friends' outwardly appearance Spike was worried that Buffy could decide to back out on the whole thing. She now realized how much she affected him so if she suddenly decided that this was too much for her, that she couldn't handle what he felt for her than it would leave him disappointed and desperately unsatisfied.   
  
"I think so," Buffy replied after another long moment of silence. They had almost reached the door to that them to the lot where their trailers were. "Unless you think it's we're not."   
  
"No, not at all, luv. I was just worried that today might have changed some feelings or I scared you off or something."   
  
"Of course not. Today was a little awkward, I must admit, but I know that all of that heat wasn't purely for the cameras." Buffy told him with a mischievous smile.   
  
"Oh, you know that, do you? Well, we had better confirm that then, hmm?" They stopped at the door as Spike leaned down to kiss her, his hands cupping her face. Buffy pressed against him as her hands rested on his hips. It was a soft, easy kiss of promises instead of rushed commitments.   
  
Buffy broke away laughing as his hands trailed down to tickled her neck. She pushed the door open, still laughing as he stepped outside with her and tried to move closer bite at her neck playfully.   
  
As the door closed behind them, Spike drew her in for another kiss, uncaring of who saw them outside, away from the prying lens of the camera. Buffy responded eagerly this time, wrapping her arms around his neck so she could run her fingers through his hair. They were so caught up in the moment, their first real one all day, that they didn't hear anyone approach them.   
  
"Well isn't this special. Big, bad Spike trying his moves out on good-girl Buffy. I must say though, Buffy, doesn't look like you're so good anymore- throwing yourself at Spike after the day of hard 'work' you two put in today." Angel laughed from behind them. Buffy and Spike broke apart, almost guiltily, before they turned and saw Angel and Drusilla watching them, Angel laughing and Dru less than pleased.   
  
"What are you talking about? It was a closed set today." Buffy told them, confused.   
  
"Was it? You two looked pretty cozy to me." Angel laughed back. Buffy grew red and dropped her gaze, pulling away slightly from Spike.   
  
"Let's go, luv." He noticed her start to close off so Spike wanted to get her away from Angel before he caused her to withdraw any further.   
  
"Why? The fun is just beginning," Dru spoke up finally, turning her nose up slightly at Buffy. "My Spike, always gallant, no matter _who_ he's around."   
  
"Uh, Dru? He's not _your_ Spike anymore, remember? Why would you want to be with such a freak anyway?" Angel asked the brunette, his voice with an edge showing his distaste for her comment. It just seemed to enflame his attack on the blonde couple.   
  
"It was sad seeing you two in bed together and then out here just now. It's sad because I now realize just how desperate Buffy has been for a man since we broke up. I didn't think you'd resort to going after your co-stars though. Poor, poor Buffy. This is quite the far cry from when you were with me. I couldn't pry your legs open with a crowbar half the time, no wonder I had to go to greener pastures. Hopefully this one will stick around, huh, Buff?"   
  
"Angel, shut up." Buffy retorted with a weakening resolve. He was getting to her and she hated it, but she couldn't help but believe that what he was saying was true. She hadn't been with anyone since Angel and now she's jumping on the first guy who shows interest in her?   
  
"C'mon," Spike tried to push through with Buffy but Dru grabbed his hand to hold him back.   
  
"Wait, Spike-" Angel's face turned beet red seeing his girlfriend almost throw herself at her ex. He shoved Spike back in a fit of rage.   
  
"Hopefully this one will be better for you Buff. Cause you have a tendency to go for guys who either beat you or cheat on you, don't you? Maybe fucking you senseless would make for a longer lasting relationship."   
  
All the color drained from Buffy's face and her mouth dropped open, stunned at his words. She stopped dead in her tracks, in shock Spike took one took at her and flew at Angel, knocking them both to the ground. Dru turned to Buffy as the two men struggled with each other, a haunted look in her eyes.   
  
"You are naughty, causing our boys to fight. You've changed my Spike. I look at him and all I see if you- floating all around him. You're horrible, taking what is someone else's," The dark haired girl hissed at Buffy. Numb, she started to back away, and then turned to run to her trailer, leaving Dru to watch her retreat and the two men rolling on the ground together, exchanging punches.   
  
"I warned you Angel. One more word and you'd regret it," Spike told Angel as he rolled them over so he was on top finally and delivered a few satisfying blows to his face and stomach. Angel grunted in surprise, and then pain as the wind was knocked out of him. Dru shrieked as Spike got up and knelt beside him, throwing nasty looks at Spike.   
  
"You've hurt Daddy, all because of that mean, nasty girl. You should be ashamed of yourself! What has happened to you?"   
  
"Give it up, Dru. You and the poof deserve each other, you're both bleeding insane," Spike told her as he looked around for Buffy and dusted off his robe.   
  
Angel sat up, wiping blood from his nose, and laughed. "She ran off. Probably to go get ready to shag you rotten."   
  
Spike launched himself at Angel again, fending off a few harmless blows from Dru, and pulled his head back by the hair. "Do you WANT to get your ass kicked again, old man? Because I can and you know it."   
  
Angel laughed again. "Defending your lady love to the end. When you really should be with her right now. Cause if I know Buffy she's probably picking up the pieces of her shattered ego right now. Poor girl has bad luck with men."   
  
Rage shot through Spike, amazed at how inhumanly cruel Angel could be. He delivered one final punch that doubled Angel over again and left to find Buffy. He should have known better than to let Angel get to him. Especially when it was Buffy he was trying to rattle. Which he had done successfully.   
  
He jogged to her trailer and entered without knocking. He found Buffy sitting on her sofa seat, her arms wrapped around her as she stared into space. He sat down beside her and tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders but she jerked away, finally realizing he was there.   
  
"Buffy, I'm so sorry. We should have just left. Angel's such an asshole." Spike sat back a little, giving her a little space.   
  
"He's right though. What he said- it's all true. And here I am, carrying on in broad daylight like a wh - "   
  
"Buffy! Stop!" Spike grabbed her hand and pressed it to his mouth, wishing he could take all her insecurities. "Angel's a bastard, right?"   
  
"Yes, but-"   
  
"And he's with my ex, which immediately brings me to question his sanity because she's a bit of a psychopath. All he's ever done is hurt you, luv, and he's still trying to do it. He's just trying to get to you and you can't let him. You're so much better than him."   
  
"That may be so but it doesn't make what he said any less true. I can't shake it. His words keep echoing in my mind." Buffy put her head in her hands and sighed. Spike edged closer to her again and tried to put his arm around her as he had before. This time she allowed it. She turned to him and curled into his side, letting him hold her.   
  
"He was the one who cheated on you Buffy. He's probably just mad at himself that he fucked up something good and wanted to take it out on you. He's a bloody wanker, luv," Spike told her, laying his head on top of hers. She pulled back and looked up at Spike, a small smile on her face.   
  
"You always seem to know what to say, you know that? I always try to have it together but you're the one that can pull it all in and make things better. Thank you." Spike looked so surprised at her assessment that she gave a quiet laugh and leaned up to kiss him.   
  
Spike responded easily, keeping it slow and calm. Buffy had other ideas in mind, however and soon their tongues were tangling with each other. She bit down lightly on his lower lip and brought her hands up to stroke his neck. Spike moaned into her mouth when her hand slipped into his robe and traced his collarbone with one fingernail. He pulled her up further next to him so she wouldn't be at such an awkward angle but Buffy decided to get even more comfortable. She climbed into his lap and straddled his legs, her knees on either side of him.   
  
They kissed for long minutes, her hands drifting through his hair and around his neck while his traced small circles on her lower back, sending warmth through her body. His restraint was driving Buffy crazy, however, so she decided to make the next move for him. With one hand cupping his jaw she let her other slide between their bodies to the belt of his robe knowing that neither of them had changed out of the skimpy clothing that they had on for filming.   
  
When Spike felt Buffy fumbling with his belt he broke their kiss and stilled her hand quickly. "Buffy, luv, what are you doing?"   
  
"I got impatient," She told him with what she hoped was in impish grin. Why was he stopping? Didn't he want her? She shrugged mentally and tried the belt again but Spike brought his hands from her back to stop her firmly.   
  
"Buffy, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but we can't do this," He told her. She looked back at him, confused, before she stood clumsily and stumbled away from him.   
  
"Y-you don't want me?" She asked.   
  
"Bloody hell, Buffy, I've wanted you since the very first day we met. When I plowed into you in the hallway I wanted to ask you out. I've been wracking by brain trying to come up with ways to get near you, for you to like me. I made up the story about my TV being on the fritz, you know. Just so I could be with you. Believe me, I want you," Spike told her.   
  
"Then what's wrong?" Buffy asked, even more confused.   
  
"After what just happened I don't want to do anything with you that you might wish you could take back later. I don't want this to be about Angel or because you want to prove him wrong or just _because_. I want to make love with you Buffy, but only when I look at you and you look back at me and we just _know_ that it's right. I don't want to hurt you here, but _I_ don't want to get hurt either. So far I've put all my feelings out on the table so fancy that if I don't want to be in bed with you and have you realize that you didn't want me to begin with. But never doubt that I want you," Spike told her honestly. His heart was beating a mile a minute, worried she would scream at him to get out or tell him that it was over.   
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered instead. "I did want to prove something. I wanted to prove that I could lose myself in you and you wouldn't hurt me or leave me in the morning. Because I don't think you're that kind of guy. And that was wrong. I want you too, that's never been an issue for me, not even when we were fighting so bad, but it's wrong of me to use that to my advantage." Buffy sat back down on the sofa seat and propped her chin up in her hand. If he were going to storm off in a rage it would be now, so she wanted to have a good view for it. To her surprise he sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders again.   
  
"So here we are. Not shagging like bunnies and appropriately depressed about it. What say we go out and get pissed?" Spike suggested.   
  
"You want to go get angry?" Buffy asked, confused again.   
  
Spike laughed. "No, get drunk, luv. British and all." Buffy laughed too but shook her head.   
  
"That's a no for me. Alcohol and Buffy don't mix. They make a sort of cave-Buffy and she does stupid stuff. How about dinner instead?" Giving him a sidelong glance.   
  
"It's a date." He stood, pulling her with him by the hand and pulled her to him to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. "So we're ok?"   
  
Buffy smiled shyly up at him. "We're still really good friends."   
  
"Good," he smiled back at her. "Let's get changed. I have a couple calls to make and then we can go eat."   
  


* * *

By the time they got back to the hotel it was after nine and both blondes were exhausted. They had gone to a small Italian restaurant and shared a plate of pasta, a desert and a glass of wine each. They'd talked for hours about everything and nothing at all, trying to surprise each other with things about their lives. Buffy learned that Spike had almost gone to Oxford University to study English and Spike was surprised to learn that she was planning on going into teaching after university.   
  
The ride back to the hotel was silent, each blonde on their own side of the taxi but held hands in the middle. It was a comfortable, easy silence that neither tried to break. They walked into the lobby and rode the elevator in silence. They reached Buffy's door where Spike turned her around to face him and kissed her softly on the forehead. Buffy leaned against him, breathing in his scent and the feel of his leather around him.   
  
"Lets get you inside, luv," He murmured. She handed him her card key and he opened the door, allowing her to go inside first. He stayed in the doorway and watched her walk into the suite, look up and gasp.   
  
The entire suite was covered in lilies. Red, white, pink, orange, two-toned colors filled the room in different shapes, sizes and variations of the flower. She could hardly move three feet without coming across a new plant. She wheeled around to look at Spike who was smiling at her.   
  
"Oh my god. This is amazing. Beautiful! Did you do this?" She gaped at him, still stunned. Spike walked into the room and took her hands.   
  
"Are you happy?" He asked.   
  
"I'm in shock. I'm overwhelmed and bewildered. You did all this for me?" Spike nodded. "This has to be one of the most amazing things that anyone has ever done for me, if not _the_ most amazing."   
  
"This was the call I made before we left for dinner. So you're happy?"   
  
Buffy nodded and broke out in a dazzling smile. "They're so pretty! I don't know how to thank you."   
  
"Your smile is all I need." He leaned down to catch her lips in a soft, short kiss. Buffy wrapped her arms around Spike's body under his jacket and burrowed against him, a huge weight lifting from her shoulders that she hadn't even realized she was carrying.   
  
"I should head to my suite and get to bed, luv." He told her as he squeezed her tightly. Buffy pulled back and looked up at him.   
  
"You don't want to … I mean, do you want to maybe stay?" She hesitated; still unbelieving that he had gone to all this trouble. If she hadn't wanted him before this she was certainly going to have trouble keeping her hands off him now.   
  
"You have no idea how much, luv. But not tonight. This is just for you. Nothing else. Like I said earlier- when it's right for both of us." He told her, stroking her hair. Buffy was silent for a moment, deep in thought. She looked up at him and captured his face in her hands, bringing him down so she could kiss him.   
  
"Thank you," She whispered when she pulled back, truly touched by his selflessness.   
  
"Car to the set in the morning?" He asked. Buffy nodded. He kissed her again and then started for the door.   
  
"Hey," Buffy called. "What am I supposed to do with all these?"   
  
"Smell them," He threw back. As he left her suite and closed the door behind him he could hear her laughing. He took that sound with him to bed. 

* * *

What happens next in the saga of Buffy and Spike? Check it out in Part 17: Safe Passage   
  
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	17. Safe Passage

* * *

**Part 17: Safe Passage**   
  
Wow. Talk about the little update that could. I've been meaning to start MLIT 5 for the past two weeks. I've been meaning to finish AOI 18 for the past two weeks. I've been wanting to shoot myself in the head and start over for the past three weeks. Tonight I am devoting to writing, so hopefully SOMETHING will get done. There might be a craptastic ficlet going up at some point and I am working on Birthday!smut for Magz (yay for being the best beta ever! *smooches*) which is only coming up on three months late. Spangel has been getting my attention for the past couple of days. But tonight I'm all about the Spuffy. Promise.   
  
Long story short: update. Woot! 

* * *

Buffy went to sleep that night with the smell of lilies all around her, still reeling from the day's events. Just when she had thought that Angel had broken her Spike brought her back from the darkest place. He didn't expect anything in return and had done it all to make her happy. Which she was, which surprised her after the day's assault on her self-esteem.   
  
She had walked through the whole room for over an hour, just looking at and smelling the flowers and debating on whether she should call Willow to tell her. She figured that it could wait until tomorrow and let herself enjoy her happiness. In her exploration, she had found one more thing that made her weak in the knees for Spike - a bouquet of roses. A dozen simple red roses settled amongst the lilies, and the only flowers with a card.   
  
_Just so you don't forget me,_ read the card and she had almost swooned, although given his grand gesture she knew that she would never in all of her life ever forget this night and the special man who had given it to her.   
  
She'd stared at the card for a while before she went to sleep, studying it over and over until the words glowed bright in her mind far after she fell into a deep sleep.   
  


* * *

  
  
"Sleep well?" asked a rough voice. She shivered and turned to face the man she'd dreamed of all night. Holding her coffee in one hand so as not to spill on him she allowed her other to wrap around the nape of his neck so she could bring him down to kiss her uncaring that she was in the middle of the hotel lobby.   
  
Spike responded eagerly, but gently, before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. "I'll take that as a yes."   
  
Buffy gave him a big smile and pulled back as she tipped her sunglasses up to rest on top of her head. Her eyes twinkled at him and he couldn't help but grin back.   
  
"I went to sleep with the smell of flowers and I woke up to them- all beautiful and from a very sexy man! What more could a girl want?"   
  
"Hmmm. Very sexy man, eh? Do I need to get jealous? Maybe rough someone up, luv?"   
  
"I think you should be quite jealous. This man is tall and very well built, has the most _gorgeous_ eyes and has swept me off my feet. Oh yes, you should be _very_ jealous," Buffy told him, very seriously.   
  
"I should take you away then. Far away from this man who has captured your attention, to a remote and isolated area where it's only you and I and I can win you back," Spike told her, just as serious. "Come! We must go now, before you are lost to me forever!"   
  
Buffy giggled. "I don't suppose this 'remote isolated area' would happen to be a crowded, surrounded studio, would it?"   
  
"Damn. You found me out. Guess I'll have to find another place to surprise you with," He laughed with her. He found her hand and began to lead her outside to their waiting car. "So you did have a good night, luv?"   
  
"Wonderful! The flowers are so pretty. I just don't know what I'm going to do with them all! Usually a girl would press a flower from a bouquet she gets, but I don't think I'll be doing that with the hundreds of flowers there are up there."   
  
"I guess I'm not up to date in proper flower preservation techniques. Maybe we could vacuum seal them?" Spike asked as they got into the car.   
  
Buffy laughed. "Something tells me that wouldn't work. I couldn't believe it when I got into the thick of them and found the roses though. I thought that was a sweet addition."   
  
"Sorry?" Spike cocked his head at her as the car set out for the studio. "What roses, luv?"   
  
"The ones you sent with the lilies. They were in the center of the room, kind of hidden. The ones with the card?" Buffy told him, waiting for him to clue in.   
  
"I didn't send any roses, luv. I decided not to because I figured they were a bit old-hat. And I didn't send any cards either. I knew you'd know who they were from. What did it say?"   
  
"'Just so you don't forget me'. I don't get it though, if you didn't send them, who did? And on the same day? Maybe the florist screwed up?"   
  
"I don't know. Did the roses come from the same one?"   
  
"The card had a Cashman's stamp on it. Was that the florist you used?"   
  
"No, I used Moore's. So you got a bouquet of roses on the same day as I sent you the lilies. No idea who it's from, luv?"   
  
"Absolutely no clue. The card wasn't signed so I figured it was from you."   
  
"'Just so you don't forget me', huh?" Spike thought for a moment and then asked hesitantly, "There hasn't been… anyone you've met lately, luv? Like, someone- er. Maybe you met someone and they wanted to say hello?"   
  
Buffy looked at Spike, confused, "I don't follow."   
  
"I mean have you met someone else lately? Someone who would want to give you flowers? Like a- another ma-person?" Spike stumbled over his question and then gave up. "Ah, bugger it. Is there another guy somewhere who's sending you flowers, luv?"   
  
Buffy burst out laughing. "No! You're too funny! All jealous and worried, poor baby."   
  
"Not jealous! Not a 'poor baby'." Spike told her, defensively. "Just… wanted… to- uh- know if there was someone coming to try to take me out for touching their woman."   
  
"You're priceless, do you know that?" Buffy asked, sliding across the seat toward him. She let her hand wind in the hair at his neck and smiled at him. "There isn't anyone else. You're it and have been the only one for quite awhile." She laughed again. "You're so cute."   
  
"Great, I've gone from 'poor baby' to 'so cute' in under five seconds. You enjoy belittling my manhood, don't you pet?" Spike complained. Buffy got an evil glint in her eye and laughed yet again.   
  
"You walked right into that one, Spike. Belittle and your manhood?" Spike just frowned and shook his head, a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "But instead," her voice dropped down low so only he could hear. "I think I'll just say that I don't think there's _anything_ little about you Spike."   
  
Spike made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl and leaned in to kiss her. The flowers and card from the mystery sender fell away from their minds as they spent the rest of the ride to the studio making out and whispering sweet nothings to each other.   
  


* * *

Buffy and Spike arrived on set, ready to work but found things delayed and confusing. Security was everywhere on set and production assistants were running back and forth on the lot between actors, directors and studio heads. They looked at each other, concerned, before searching for Wesley. When they found him at craft services Cordelia and Tara were both there as well, wondering what was going on.   
  
"Here you two are. Shooting is going to be delayed, obviously," Wesley told them as they approached.   
  
"What's going on?" Buffy asked, watching a security guard rush by, mumbling into his walkie-talkie.   
  
"Seems as though someone broke in last night," Wesley told them with a sigh. "Doesn't look like anything was taken, but the whole lot has to be searched. Cops have been here already and will be around for the rest of the day to make sure nothing happens. There weren't any threats phoned in and no one has found anything that could be dangerous, but it never hurts to be sure."   
  
Buffy and Spike nodded as Snyder came up to them with a sour look on his face. "Pryce, come on. I need you to handle some reporters," the man snapped before hurrying on. Wes rolled his eyes and set out after him. Tara and Cordelia turned to Buffy and Spike and gestured to a nearby table.   
  
"So the lot was broken into, huh?" Buffy asked as they sat down. Spike pushed her chair in for her, which did not go unnoticed by the other two women.   
  
"Guess so. Wes didn't have all the details, but from what we've been hearing, it was a completely random thing. It doesn't look like anything was taken, but the studio heads want every possible explanation looked into. There's been everything from a rival studio looking for scripts to punk kids suggested," Cordelia explained. "I think they should just send us home. I mean, I could be sleeping or getting my nails done right now!"   
  
Buffy and Tara giggled at Cordy's complaining as Xander approached them. Spike greeted him with a wave. "What's going on?"   
  
"Your guess is as good as mine," Xander responded sitting beside Cordy who gave him a small smile. Xander blushed a little before turning back to the others. "So I hear that they're checking out our trailers too, seems like there was some evidence of someone being over in that area."   
  
"This sucks. And it's weird," Buffy complained, rubbing her arms. The whole situation felt funny to her. She was eager to get back to work and forget all about this.   
  
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it was anything too important so it's ok. We'll be back under slave-driver Snyder in no time," Xander quipped. The gang laughed and sat talking until Wesley hurried over to them and ordered them on set.   
  
"We're starting now people, got the all clear." As they started to leave the table Wes called out to her, "Buffy, can I talk to you for a moment?"   
  
Spike gave her a smile as he started off to his trailer to get changed for the day. Buffy clapped her hands and rubbed them eagerly, grinning at Wes as she approached him but her face fell when she saw the look on his. "Wes? Did I do something wrong?"   
  
"No, Buffy, nothing like that. I was informed just now that there's evidence that someone tried to force their way into your trailer. They didn't succeed, thankfully as I'm not sure what you keep in there for valuables but I thought you might like to know," Wes told her quietly. Buffy gaped at him for a moment before shaking her head.   
  
"You must be wrong. Why would they try for my trailer? Maybe they thought there was money in there or something? I don't have any but maybe they were just looking for something to steal or… take? I don't know," Buffy ran her hand through her hair, her uneasy feeling increasing.   
  
"Security is going to look at the surveillance tapes from last night but they don't expect to find much as this lot is all shadows after dark. I don't want you to worry, because you're perfectly safe on set, but I wanted to let you know right away so nothing would be kept from you. We're also increasing security during filming, just to be on the safe side. Are you ok?" Wes asked, concerned at the pale look on Buffy's face.   
  
She nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, this is just weird, you know?" Wes nodded as well. Buffy sighed and started off towards her trailer to get ready, wondering how she always got stuck with the nut jobs.   
  


* * *

"So guys, what are you all doing Friday night? Since we have Saturday off Cordy and I were thinking of hitting the clubs downtown, checking out the night scene. You up for it?" Xander jogged up behind Buffy and Spike as they walked off set, done for the day. It was a week after the attempted break-in and Buffy had not told anyone else about her trailer being the one they tried to burgle, not even Spike.   
  
November had drifted into December and filming was on schedule, despite the time they lost because of the break in. These past couple of weeks with Spike, filming every day on set and then heading back to the hotel for dinner and making out while watching a movie or TV or just sitting around and reading or talking had been great. She felt so comfortable with him and how they were progressing. She didn't want to ruin anything by telling him that her trailer had been a possible target from the people who broke onto the lot, even though she really didn't think that. It was just a fluke, in her mind.   
  
Spike turned to Buffy and raised an eyebrow. "What do you say pet? Want to go out and not be boring old fuddy-duddies for a night?"   
  
Buffy shrugged, the thought of going out for once very appealing even though she knew she would be exhausted come Friday night. She was getting bored of staying in all the time and she was sure Spike was as well. "Why not?"   
  
"Great, I'll go tell Cordy." Xander rushed off leaving Buffy and Spike smiling in his wake.   
  
"Which one am I?" Buffy asked with mock annoyance. "The fuddy or the duddy?"   
  
"You, my dear," Spike told her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Can be fuddy or duddy because either way you make it unbelievably sexy."   
  
Buffy laughed and shoved at him lightly. "You could charm your way into heaven, couldn't you?"   
  
"I've already kissed your lips, can't get any more heavenly than that," Spike told her seriously. Buffy blushed and bit her lip, smiling. That was the cheesiest line she'd ever heard. And it made her deliriously happy.   
  


* * *

"Come on, luv, everyone's waitin' on us!" Spike called to Buffy from the entryway to the suite. He could hear Buffy's heals clicking on the floor in the bathroom as she rushed to get ready.   
  
"I'm almost done!" She called out. She checked her hair and makeup one last time before stepping through a spray of her favorite perfume and turning off the light. She grabbed her small clutch purse and walked out of her room. Spike was looking at his watch and jiggling his foot impatiently when she stepped out but when he looked up at her his whole world stopped.   
  
Buffy grinned at his reaction and twirled as she approached him. His mouth dropped open as he took in her black halter-style jumpsuit that had no back and plunged nearly to her navel in the front. He opened his mouth to say something but it only came out in a croak as he felt his cock strain against his tight jeans.   
  
"You like?" She asked, taking his hands and standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He turned his head and caught her mouth in a searing kiss, his tongue possessively searching her mouth as one of his hands wrapped around her back, rubbing the smooth skin there.   
  
He broke away with a ragged gasp. "I don't think we're leaving this room tonight, Buffy." She just laughed and led him to the door.   
  
"Come on, it's going to be a lot of fun. And just think everyone in the bar will be jealous that you're the only one who gets to hold me, dance with me, touch me- all night long," She told him in a seductive tone as he followed her in a trance. In his mind, he groaned.   
  
"That's what I'm afraid of, luv. I think someone is going to try to give me a run for my money tonight." 

* * *

A sexy night out on the town. How will that work out? Check it out in Part 18.   
  
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	18. Bump and Grind

* * *

**Part 18: Bump and Grind**   
  
W00t! New AOI! It's about time, eh? Next up is MLIT, hopefully, if school doesn't chew me up and spit me out. Thanks to Magz for betaing this for me and being such a great slash writer!   
  
I have my own site! Avant-Garde. Reachable at w w w. still- believe. org/ marishna Just without all the spaces. Remember that reviews make the world go round! 

* * *

The club assaulted their senses as soon as the group of five walked in. Bright colored lights pulsated in time to the thunderous beat of the music. Hundreds of bodies pressed against each other on the dance floor, creating a sweaty, writhing mass of sexually charged people just waiting to suck one more into its depths.   
  
While Spike and Xander had dressed causally in simple jeans and a dress shirt, Cordelia had dressed like Buffy, in black and showing skin. Tara had gone the more conservative route in a short skirt and button-up top. Buffy had called Willow about tonight and told her to get her ass to the club to meet Tara. Willow had promised she would try as hard as she could, claiming that she was swamped with work, but really she was just nervous about meeting someone new. Buffy had made her promise to try and Willow had conceded to that which Buffy knew meant that she would be there.   
  
"Come on!" Buffy yelled to Spike. "Let's go dance!" Spike shook his head, indicating he wanted a drink instead. Buffy nodded and grabbed Cordy and Tara, pulling them onto the floor instead. Spike and Xander went to the bar, ordered the group drinks, and went to find a table. They found one near the dance floor but in a corner behind the speakers so the music didn't drown their conversation out completely.   
  
"Do you think they brought us here to taunt us?" Xander asked, watching Cordelia dance. She and Buffy writhed to the music while Tara watched as well, shy about being so uninhibited in public.   
  
"I know at least one of them did," Spike returned, watching Buffy. He was glad he was sitting down and figured he would be for much of the night given that he had been aroused from the moment he saw Buffy in the suite and it had never gone away. He sipped his drink and sat back, content with watching her have a good time. He and Xander talked about different things as they watched the girls, both protective and not wanting anyone to horn in on their territory. A few times Spike watched Buffy wave guys away who wanted to grind with her. Every time she would catch his eye and send him a smile, sometimes licking her lips or smiling secretively, which made his cock throb painfully.   
  
After a few songs, the girls came back to the table to sit and have a drink. Spike pushed the glass toward her that he'd bought for her. Her chest heaved from exertion on the dance floor as she gulped the drink down, Spike's eyes drawn to her flushed cheeks and wild hair. He'd never seen anything more beautiful.   
  
"Slow down there, eh, luv?" Spike told her as she finished the glass and set it back down on the table.   
  
"I'm just so hot," Buffy explained. "Whatever that was, it was good. What have you two been doing over here?"   
  
"Just sitting and talking," Spike told her with a smile.   
  
"That's no fun!" Buffy tried to pull him off his chair and to the dance floor but he resisted. "Come on Spike!" He still refused to budge so Buffy decided to play dirty. She leaned over to him and whispered something in his ear that made his eyes widen. He glanced around the table to see that no one was paying them any attention so he pulled her in for a quick, hard kiss.   
  
"You, little girl, play dirty. I like it. But I'm not getting out there. Not without a few more of these in me, anyway," he told her waving his glass at her. Buffy frowned and stuck her tongue out at him.   
  
"When I come back have another drink ready for me and be prepared to dance," Buffy told him, winking. She grabbed Cordy and Tara and the three went back to dance. Xander and Spike watched appreciatively but didn't miss the looks from the other men around them who were giving them approving looks.   
  
Spike and Xander exchanged a glance and watched the girls a little closer. They chatted more and ordered the girls more drinks. Spike had to admit, he was having a good time and could tell Buffy was as well. The movie had them so busy all the time that they never got to have some fun outside the set or hotel.   
  
As the girls walked back to Xander and Spike after some enthusiastic dancing, a waitress approached the table and set a shot down in front of Spike. She told him it was from the table in the corner and pointed to a tall, full-lipped brunette staring intensely at him as Buffy settled on the chair next to him. She followed the direction the waitress was pointing and narrowed her eyes. Spike just gave her a small wave and a nod before turning to Buffy and giving her a brilliant smile. Buffy smiled back but reached over and grabbed the glass, chugging it back. The brunette in the corner was not impressed.   
  
Spike chuckled at her as she made a gagged face and hid her expression from everyone in his shoulder. "Jealous, luv?" He asked, tipping her head up. She avoided his eyes.   
  
"No," she told him weakly. "Well… maybe. I was thirsty too!"   
  
"So you decided to throw back a shot of expensive whiskey?" Spike's eyes laughed at her teasingly. Buffy rolled her eyes and laughed.   
  
"Maybe I was saving you from death. It could have been poisoned. Or mixed with a love potion," She told him, leaning in to kiss him. He kissed her back slowly, tasting the alcohol on her lips. He licked her lips with his tongue and prompted her to open her mouth. After a leisurely exploration, he pulled back and rubbed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. The other members at the table wisely chose to avoid looking at the blonde couple and resumed their own conversation after a few raised eyebrows and knowing glances.   
  
"A love potion, huh? So now you're in love with the woman at the table?" Spike asked, cocking his head to the corner. Buffy spared her a glance and then pretended to consider the situation.   
  
"Well, she is VERY pretty," She started. Spike's cock gave a hard throb and he almost groaned at the thought of Buffy with the hot woman in the corner. Buffy pinched his arm and laughed at him. "Naughty boy! You have to get your mind out of the gutter! Come on!"   
  
They finished their drinks, and got up from the table, realizing that Cordelia and Tara had already pulled Xander to the floor. Laughing and long blonde hair bouncing, Buffy was gyrating on the dance floor, mesmerizing Spike. They joined their group and the five danced together, and with a few other patrons. Spike made sure no one danced with Buffy, holding her as close as he could with the loud, booming music that was intended for wild dancing and not as much body-to-body contact as he would have liked.   
  
Buffy was swaying her hips to the beat of the music and laughing with Spike as they danced when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see Tara who was pointing off the dance floor. Buffy looked to where she was pointing and her face lit up when she saw Willow, searching the crowd for her and looking a little out of place in her dress pants and button-up top.   
  
She grabbed Tara's hand and dragged her away from the dancers, flashing a quick smile at Spike as she did. Tara bit her lip as she was pulled toward the equally nervous looking redhead.   
  
"Willow!" Buffy called over the music. She hugged her friend and gestured to a quieter corner where the three could talk. "I'm so glad you came! I was starting to wonder if you bailed on us!"   
  
"The thought had crossed my mind," Willow told her. Her eyes darted to Tara, nervous but curious.   
  
"Okay, so Willow, this is Tara. Tara, this is Willow. Um… any questions?" Buffy asked, sensing immediate sparks between the two women.   
  
Tara shook her head and smiled shyly at Willow who smiled back broadly. "I- I don't think so Buffy, thanks." Buffy shot Willow an excited smile and backed away as the two women started talking, awkward at first but they soon warmed to each other. She rushed back to Spike and was swept up with him, dancing and laughing again.   
  
"You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you?" He asked her.   
  
"Course! I've just made two of my friends very happy, I'm having a great time and I'm spending my night with you," Buffy told him, swaying to the music.   
  
"Glad you're havin' such a good time, luv. We should get out more."   
  
"Yeah, go see a movie or something. Low profile, of course. Don't want to draw too much attention," Buffy reminded him. He nodded.   
  
"I've got to go find the loo, alright? Will you be okay?" Spike asked Buffy. She rolled her eyes at him. He laughed at her and left in search of the bathroom. Buffy was sucked up by the crowd again, off to find Cordy and Xander.   
  
By the time Spike came back the dance floor seemed even more crowded than when he left not five minutes before. He scanned the dancers and thought he saw her dancing by the speakers. He made his way through the throng of writhing bodies and found Cordy and Xander. Buffy was off to the side dancing with a bulky guy who looked like he was ready to carry her off the dance floor. Buffy looked oblivious to his interest and her face lit up when she saw Spike. He shuffled over to her, past a couple people, and offered his hand to her, which she accepted. The bigger man grabbed her other hand and tried to pull her back to him. Spike stepped up then and got in the man's face, wrapping his arm around her waist.   
  
"Think you're mistaken, mate. This here is my date," he yelled over the speakers. The guy looked skeptically down at Spike and then at Buffy who was trying not to laugh at how jealous he was. The big guy sneered at Spike before backing off. Spike led her back to Cordy and Xander and didn't take his hands off her, grinding with her instead. Buffy could feel the possessiveness roll off him in waves as he shielded her from any other men who wanted to dance with her.   
  
Buffy didn't say anything to him about being so territorial of her; in fact, she liked it. As he danced against her she felt his hard cock press into her belly and she shivered, realizing how much he wanted her and how much she liked him being so protective of her.   
  


* * *

"I had so much fun!" Buffy squealed as they walked into her suite late that night, or early the next morning, depending on how one looked at it. Spike closed the door behind her and smiled as she danced around the suite, turning on lamps here and there. She danced back over to him, still standing by the door and grabbed his hand. "Come on, dance with me."   
  
"You haven't danced enough for one night?" He asked, twirling her once and bringing her back into his arms.   
  
"Never!" She giggled, still feeling the effects of the few drinks she'd had. Spike had made sure she didn't drink that much, remembering her heed about her low alcohol tolerance. He let her go for a moment and walked to the media cabinet on the far wall and turned on the stereo, tuning the radio to an easy listening station. As the music started he opened his arms to her. She glided to him, settling easily against him, her head against his chest.   
  
"This is nice." She murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist, snuggling into him.   
  
"Much better without the three hundred other people on the dance floor with us. I can finally hold you against me because I want to, not because otherwise some sodding wanker would've carried you off. I should never have let you out of here in that." Spike gestured to the plunging black jumpsuit.   
  
"You liked playing Mr. Macho, don't say you didn't. 'Sides, not like I would have gone home with anyone else. Course, if I'm too much for you to handle I could go back and find someone else to spend the rest of my night with. You know, maybe that big guy, he seemed fairly normal." Buffy hid the smile on her face as Spike's jaw tightened and gripped her harder around the waist.   
  
"Yeah, normal for an _axe-murderer_. Anyway, think I can't handle a small little thing like you? I think I could handle you quite well," Spike challenged her.   
  
"Oh yeah?" Buffy pulled from his embrace quickly. "Catch me then." She darted off with a shriek around the couch. Spike gave a short growl and set out after her.   
  
She raced around the room and backed herself into the small kitchenette, letting Spike catch up with her. Thinking she was trapped he advanced with a smirk on his face but she laughed and ducked under his outstretched arm. He laughed with her and set out after her again. She ran back through the living room to the open balcony doors. Spike went the other direction, to her bedroom, and caught her running to the bathroom. He held her around the waist backwards and she struggled playfully and laughed. He swung her around once before setting her on her feet and turned her to face him. Her eyes laughed with her voice.   
  
"Caught you," He told her with a growl.   
  
"What_ever_ are you going to do with me?" Buffy asked with a Southern accent, playing the damsel in distress. Spike leaned down and caught her bottom lip between his teeth and tugged gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tipped her head back so he could focus on her neck, which he did with enthusiasm.   
  
"Nothing _ too_ evil," Spike murmured into her neck. He kissed his way up to her ear where he worried her lobe gently, around her earring. He pulled away and carefully removed her hoops and set them on her bedside stand. He cupped her jaw and stroked her cheek with his thumb, watching her lean into the touch and close her eyes. She was relaxed and completely at ease with him.   
  
He leaned in to kiss her quickly, catching her off guard. Buffy grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in closer, her hands bunching the fabric and pulling it from his pants. Spike wrapped his arms around her waist, splaying his hands over the exposed skin of her back, running them up and down. Buffy shivered slightly.   
  
"Cold?" Spike whispered. Buffy shook her head.   
  
"I want you," she whispered back. Spike closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening them and looking down at her flushed face and swollen lips. His hands continued to move up and down her back.   
  
Spike nodded, his eyes expressing every thought he had right then. Buffy nodded back and met his mouth for a short sweet kiss as his hands pushed her hair over her shoulder to expose where the halter outfit fastened. He unclasped it gently, holding the pieces together before drawing them down and baring her breasts to him.   
  
She stood before him, unashamed and uncovered, almost proud of the way he was staring at her. He watched her nipples harden under his reverent gaze. He leaned in to kiss her again as his hands slid up her midriff to cup her breasts. Buffy leaned into his touch and gripped his arms as his thumbs brushed over her nipples. It had been a while since she had been with someone and her body was extra sensitive. The unresolved sexual tension that they had been building in the past month was beginning to make her insane with want as well and she almost cried out in relief when he finally touched her.   
  
"God Buffy," Spike whispered as she arched into his hands. She gazed at him through hooded eyes and licked her lips. She slid her hands up his arms to the collar of his dress shirt and she started to unbutton it slowly. Spike dropped his hands from her breasts and let her continue. When she finished she smoothed her hands under his shirt, running them up his chest and pushed it down his arms.   
  
Buffy returned her hands to his chest, feeling his heart beating under her palm, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him again. He responded but remained motionless, letting her take the lead. Buffy pushed him lightly, guiding him backwards. He started walking slowly, not breaking the kiss and brought a hand to the small of her back to keep her with him; as if afraid she would disappear. He stopped when the back of his knees hit the bed and he broke away breathlessly. Buffy faintly heard the music still playing in the background and the words imprinted themselves into her memory, marking this occasion.   
  
_I remember that time that you told me, you said Love is touching souls Surely you touched mine Cause part of you pours out of me In these lines from time to time_   
  
Buffy stepped away from him and raised her arm, showing him where the zipper was to her jumpsuit, running down her right side. Spike ran the backs of his fingers along the soft skin of her ribs, making her jump slightly and laugh before slowly lowering the zipper. He pushed the suit over her hips and watched as it slid down her legs to pool on the floor. She stood before him, proudly, in only her black lacy thong.   
  
Spike swallowed and pulled her into an embrace, his hands running over all the skin he could reach. Buffy cradled his face and kissed him before running her hands down his chest, scraping her nails lightly over his nipples. Her hands continued downward until they reached the waistband of his pants. Spike sucked in a breath when he felt her brush her palm over his erection. Buffy smiled against his mouth and unbuttoned his pants, then ever so slowly lowered his zipper. Spike almost threw her to the bed as soon as he felt the back of her fingers graze his bare cock.   
  
"Mmm. Aren't you daring?" Buffy murmured. "If I had known you weren't wearing any underwear I don't think we would have left here."   
  
"Now you know how I felt, luv," Spike rasped back. "Seein' you in that," he gestured to the floor where her jumpsuit was in a heap. "And I've been like this," he guided her hand to close around his hard cock, drawing a gasp from the both. "All goddamn night. You drive me crazy."   
  
"I want you to drive me crazy," Buffy whispered. In the next moment she found herself sprawled on the bed with Spike lying half on top of her. He kissed her everywhere he could, starting with her forehead and working down. Buffy gasped and tangled her hands in his hair as he sucked gently at her neck before locking the length of her collarbone, kissing each of her shoulders. His fingers bit into her waist where his hands were holding her tightly.   
  
Buffy squirmed against Spike as he turned his attention to her breasts. She tightened her fingers in his hair as he licked and blew on her nipples, sending shivers throughout her body. She moaned when he brought his hand to her other breast, kneading and caressing it. He switched his attention though so her other breast would get the same attention.   
  
"God Spike," Buffy breathed. "Why in the hell couldn't we have found our right moment in the first week?"   
  
He grinned up at her. "Too bad, huh? We have a lot of time and missed opportunities to make up for."   
  
"Yeah, we do," Buffy agreed. Suddenly she flipped them over so she was sprawled on top of Spike. "Starting now." Spike gazed up at her in awe and admiration as he watched he tousled blonde head descend on him, her turn to kiss and lick.   
  
She started with his ears, tracing she shell with her tongue before nibbling on the lobe. She bit her way lightly down his neck, enjoying the way the muscles tightened and jumped under her mouth. She held herself up by resting her hands on his upper arms, an effective way to keep him pinned down when he tried to raise his hands to touch her.   
  
"My turn," she told him with a smile. He smiled back and closed his eyes, sure she would be the death of him before the night was over.   
  
She returned the same treatment he gave her, licking and sucking at his nipples, then blowing on them. He moaned and clutched at the bed fabric with his fingers. Buffy smiled around his flesh and sucked it hard before moving on. She kissed her way down his stomach, tracing the faint line of hair on his stomach that led into his pants with her nose.   
  
She pushed the pants open with her hands and kissed the curls that were exposed. She licked the skin above and then traced through them to the top of his cock. Spike groaned and jerked his hips when he felt her tongue slowly trail over it. Buffy smiled again and moved down the bed. Spike protested but Buffy ignored him and grabbed a hold of his jeans and tugged them down quickly. She yanked his shoes off, throwing them to the floor and his pants quickly followed. She sat at the edge of the bed and watched him. His chest heaved up and down, wanting to reach out and grab her but determined to let her do what she wanted. His cock rested on his belly, a drop of precum threatening to fall to his pale skin. Buffy made her way back up his body slowly, her eyes holding his so he could see the lust on her face.   
  
She dropped her head to his cock suddenly and engulfed the tip into her hot mouth. Spike's hips thrust upward, which Buffy was expecting and she took him in willingly. She swallowed the precum and then started bobbing her head up and down on him.   
  
"Fuck, Buffy. Oh yeah, keep doin' that. Christ!" Spike's head thrashed back and forth, his whole body ablaze. Buffy hollowed her cheeks and sucked on him quickly. Her hand reached down to squeeze his balls gently. She loved the control she had. She could feel him trembling and shaking under her, trying his hardest not to bury himself in her mouth. She added her hand to his cock and started sucking and stroking at the same time, moving her head in time to her fingers.   
  
"Buffy, baby. You're going to make me cum," Spike babbled. Buffy kept going. He put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop. It took everything out of him but he wanted this to be about her as well. She dropped his cock questioningly. "Jesus Christ Buffy. You- you're… fuck!"   
  
Buffy smiled shyly at him before he pulled her up to lie on top of him. "You're bloody amazing, you know that?" he asked.   
  
"I do now. Tell me more," Buffy replied and kissed him. She let her tongue tangle with his and he could taste himself on her. His cock pulsed in warning and he pulled away.   
  
"Baby, I'm so close to cumming. But I want you so badly," Spike explained. Buffy nodded and kissed him again quickly. Spike took her hands and pushed her up to straddle him. "I have a condom-"   
  
"It's fine. I'm on birth control," Buffy explained. Needing no further encouragement Spike reached between her legs and slid his middle finger into her. Buffy moaned and tilted her head back, thrusting against his hand with small movements. Spike thrust in and out of her a few times, adding another finger and felt her clamp down on them. Buffy panted harshly and squirmed on top of him. "Spike, I'm ready. Please, now!"   
  
Spike helped her settle over his cock and thrust up into her as she dropped down. Buffy closed her eyes and opened her mouth in a soundless scream as he stretched her and filled her to capacity. She stayed still for a moment, holding him in her before she started moving slowly.   
  
"Oh my god," she whispered, so quiet Spike could barely hear her. He watched her closely, took in the expression on her face when he thrust into her, when she held him in her, when she started to move. She was nothing less than gorgeous in whatever she did, he decided. He held her hands tightly, keeping her steady as she moved up and down. She finally opened her eyes and stared down at him, her mouth still open. "Should have done this… ages ago."   
  
"Lots of time, luv. Lots of time," Spike reminded her. She smiled down at him and began to move faster. She tilted forward so she could kiss him and also so his wiry curls would brush against her clit. He kissed her greedily, biting and licking her bottom lip, sucking at her tongue. Buffy moaned and squeezed his hands. She closed her eyes and started making quiet grunting noises when Spike began to thrust up into her as she pressed down.   
  
Spike pushed her back up to sit up straight on him and thrust up harder, his hips leaving the bed from the force. He pulled one hand away and trailed it down her body, through her curls. He pushed her lips apart and found her clit, rubbing it slowly. Buffy tipped her head back and keened, moving faster on his cock.   
  
"That's it! That's it Spike! Touch me!" She cried. Spike grinned up at her and used his other hand to hold her hips so he could surge up into her harder, nearing his orgasm.   
  
He wanted to last longer for her, wanted to make this special for her but the months of built up sexual tension and now, having her so hot and animated in bed, was almost more than he could take. He could feel her clamping down on his cock, clutching at him with her inner muscles and his eyes rolled back.   
  
"Spike…keep… touching me! I'm almost there! Fuck!" Buffy gasped. Spike rolled his hips and started thrusting slower but deeper into her. Buffy almost grabbed his hair in frustration. She was so close, just needed him to keep touching her, keep pushing her toward the edge.   
  
"Come on Buffy. You're right there, tell me what you need. I want to cum in you, fill you up so bad. Tell me how I can make you cum for me," Spike whispered to her. Buffy ground down on his cock and almost sobbed. She reached down and guided his hand as he rubbed her clit. She showed him how fast to go, how much pressure to put on her. She rubbed the back of his hand as he worked on her and bit her lip.   
  
"Buffy, I'm going to cum," Spike gasped. Buffy nodded and rode him as hard and fast as she could. He continued to massage her clit, and forced himself to slow down so he wouldn't cum as fast. Buffy had other ideas however and clenched his cock with her inner muscles to hold him inside her.   
  
"Don't hold back," she told him, reaching down to flick his nipple. "I want to feel you inside me, Spike. Please!"   
  
Spike closed his eyes and started grunting. Buffy felt his hand biting into her hip, his other working her clit as fast as he could and started to pant. She felt her legs start to tremble and her inner walls fluttered around his cock. Spike let out a strangled groan as he felt her start to clamp down on him.   
  
"Oh yes, Buffy!" He called out as he felt her start to cum, yelling his name, shaking and moaning on top of him. She raked her nails down his abs once and that's all it took before he was surging up into her one last time, his cock twitching and pulsing in her. Buffy felt him fill her and she slid up and down on him easily a few more times before collapsing on his stomach. Spike continued to thrust a few more times as his orgasm subsided. He wrapped his arms around her and felt his cock soften inside her. He shuddered under her, his cock twitching once more before sliding out of her. Buffy felt their combined spendings ooze out of her and onto his legs and the bed, but she didn't care.   
  
Buffy cleared her throat a few times before speaking, coming out in a mumble, "I don't know how many more times we have to do that to make up for lost opportunities, but I think you're going to kill me regardless."   
  
Spike chuckled gently. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he rolled over with her. She turned in his arms and felt him spoon her from behind, then pull a blanket over them. She yawned and her eyes drifted close without her realizing it. They popped back open and she craned her neck to look at him.   
  
"I'm glad we waited," she whispered tiredly. He smoothed her hair back from her face and watched her eyes flutter close again.   
  
"Me too, luv. Me too. I'm looking forward to waking up with you in my arms," He told her. She smiled softly and leaned into him as he leaned down to kiss her shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she covered it, soothed to sleep by the feeling of his rising and falling chest against her back. 

* * *

The UST finally resolved what's Buffy and Spike's next move? Check it out in Part 19.   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! ** Review me! **   
  
Back to Marishna's Fiction 


	19. Silent Night

* * *

**Part 19: Silent Night**   
  
*collapses on the floor* It's finally done. Chapter 19. I'm working up to the final part of the story (I hope) so PERHAPS things might start coming a bit faster. But don't hold your breath. Thanks to Magz for the quick beta job and I hope everyone has a great Christmas!   
  
Up next: MLIT 6. Hopefully out within the next couple of weeks. Enjoy! 

* * *

Buffy stretched lazily and groaned softly when her muscles protested slightly. She rolled over in the arm that held her and opened her eyes. She blinked a couple times before focusing on a set of deep blue eyes staring back at her. She smiled and closed her eyes again, cuddling against the hard body beside her.   
  
"Goin' to sleep again, luv?" Spike's morning voice rumbled at her. Her eyes popped open again.   
  
"Just enjoying the moment," she said softly.   
  
"It was pretty nice wakin' up with you in my arms. And naked at that," he teased her. Buffy laughed back and wrapped her arm around him. Spike rolled onto his back and pulled Buffy with him so she was sprawled half on top of him. She stared at him for a few long moments, brushing his hair back gently.   
  
"Last night was amazing," Buffy told Spike, blushing. He chuckled at her and nodded.   
  
"It was. And I don't take sex lightly. It's been awhile since I've been with anyone, since I've even wanted to be with anyone. But you- you've knocked me for a loop, Summers."   
  
"I think you're pretty neat yourself," Buffy told him quietly.   
  
"Neat, eh? How 'bout I show you just now 'neat' I can be?" Spike asked with a bone-shaking smirk, running his hands up and down her back. Buffy leaned up to kiss him, trailing her hand down the side of his face and neck to his chest. Her fingers found a nipple and played with it lightly. Spike murmured his approval into her mouth and threaded a hand into her hair as the other one stroked down her body to caress her ass.   
  
Buffy clutched at Spike's shoulders and rolled them again so she was underneath Spike, looking up at him. "Think I'll let you drive for now," she told him, arching up against his hardening cock. Spike groaned and kissed her again, his tongue pushing past her lips.   
  
Buffy ran her hands up and down Spike's chest as she wrapped one leg around his thighs, holding him against her body. Spike held his weight on his forearms on either side of her so he wouldn't crush her and continued to kiss her, their tongues meeting and tangling as each got more and more aroused. Buffy broke away, breathing heavily as she kissed her way across his cheek to his ear. Spike buried his face in her hair and breathed in the light scent of her shampoo and styling products from the night before.   
  
"Now this is the way to wake up," Buffy whispered into Spike's ear. "We should do this every morning. And every night. And at any point in between."   
  
"Naughty Buffy, trying to tempt me into spending hours ravishing you. Good thing I cave easily to small, strong-willed blondes," Spike replied, tilting her head so he could suck at her neck.   
  
"I can be much naughtier than this," she informed him and wrapped her legs around his waist to grind her hot center against his cock. Spike's hips involuntarily thrust against hers and he groaned again.   
  
"Be the death of me, you will," he gasped. Buffy pulled his head back to hers and kissed him deeply, rolling her hips up against him. He grunted into her mouth as his hips started thrusting softly.   
  
"What are we waiting for?" Buffy asked against his mouth. "Want you now."   
  
"Christ, Buffy," was all Spike could get out before he reached down to line his cock up with her opening and thrust inside her. He paused for a moment as his back arched, adjusting to the feel of her walls fluttering around him, heat and liquid in one pulling him to the edge of madness.   
  
"Want you, Spike," Buffy repeated, leaning her head up to nip at his chin. He looked down at her, into her lust-filled eyes and was lost. He started moving slowly at first, staring into her eyes but soon he was driving into her faster and faster. Buffy moved her legs higher to take him deeper and urged him on further by running her hands up and down his back and ass, pulling him against her.   
  
"Bloody amazin', you are," he grunted down at her. Buffy smiled up at him and moaned. While one hand was still at his back, she let the other one drift down her own body to her clit. Spike watched with his mouth open, panting harshly as she began to touch and rub herself.   
  
"Spike," she whispered. He ripped his eyes away from her hand and focused on her eyes. "Keep watching me right here." He nodded dumbly.   
  
"I can feel you inside me, stabbing me so hard, Spike. I'm so hot because of you and all I want to do is cum for you, I want you to see me. Do you want that too?" Spike nodded again, unable to believe the words coming out of Buffy's mouth. Buffy, who up to last night had been fairly quiet and reserved. "You fill me right to the brim, you do. And all I can do it lay here and take it, wanting more of you. And right now, as I'm touching myself, I only want more of you. I want you to lick me, kiss me, and touch me places I didn't know I had. All the while, you keep fucking me. And –ooh! I'm so close, Spike. So close because of you. Can you feel it? Can you feel me on the edge?"   
  
"Jesus Christ Buffy," Spike gasped and plunged into her deeper as he felt her use her muscles to clamp down on his cock. He watched her eyes the whole while she had spoken to him, his cock throbbing inside her, ready to cum. He could feel her body shaking beneath him and then she was calling out his name underneath him, her eyes going wide. She bucked up against him and squeezed her legs around his waist. All he needed now was-   
  
"All I want is you," she panted up at him and leaned up to kiss him. He moaned into her mouth, then broke away and came with a yell, holding her hips tightly. He pumped into her a couple more times as his cock spent itself, and then he slowly lowered himself down on top of her with his last ounce of strength.   
  
They lay in each other's arms for a few minutes, silent but for the sounds of their panting. Spike rolled himself to the side slightly and slipped out of Buffy, drawing a disappointed whimper from her. He laid his head on her breast and gave her a weak smile.   
  
"Now that's what I call good morning," he told her breathlessly. Buffy was about to reply when a phone interrupted her. They both looked around to where the muffled ringing was coming from. Buffy pointed to his pants on the floor in the middle of the room. With a scowl Spike got out of the bed on shaky legs and grabbed his pants, pulling the phone from the pocket. He crawled back in bed before he answered it.   
  
"Yeah?" he said, still breathless.   
  
"Spike?" Charlie asked on the other end. He waved for the rest of the band to be quiet.   
  
"Hey buddy, what's up?" Spike asked, leaning back carefully. Buffy rolled over and played across his chest with her fingers, watching him as he tried to compose himself.   
  
"Just thought I'd call and ask when you thought you'd be able to get together for some rehearsal time again? We have that gig on New Years that we have to get ready for, remember?" Charlie listened to Spike try to catch his breath and tried not to laugh. "What are you doing man?"   
  
"What do you mean?" Spike asked.   
  
"You sound like you've been working out or something," Charlie said with a smirk.   
  
"Yeah, uh… yeah. Work out. That's it." Charlie heard a feminine snort from Spike's end of the line and nodded.   
  
"Right. Workout. Say hi to Buffy for me, would you?" Charlie heard Spike sigh. "Anyway, New Years? Rehearsal?"   
  
"Right. How about you give me a couple days to check when shooting is finishing up for the holidays and I'll get right back to you when I get the dates, eh?" Spike asked as he wrapped an arm around Buffy's shoulders and rubbed her arm absently.   
  
"That works here. So, I'd talk longer but it sounds like you have more… working out to do. I'll talk to you later. Okay, man?" Charlie asked with a laugh.   
  
Spike laughed with him. "Yeah, later Charlie." He looked down at Buffy as he hung up. "Busted, I guess."   
  
"They're probably just jealous," Buffy told him, leaning up to kiss him again. Spike hummed against her lips and dropped the phone on the bedside table without looking.   
  
"So," Charlie announced to the rest of the band. "Who had six weeks in the pool?"   
  


* * *

Over the next few weeks Spike and Buffy on set, working hard. Everyone on set noticed a certain closeness between the two stars but no one commented on it, at least not to them. It wasn't long before rumors started showing up in the tabloids, however. Buffy and Spike saw the stories, heard about them from others and got calls from their agents and publicists but refused to comment on them. They stuck to their previously decided upon response- that they were just friends.   
  
"Are you sure you want to leave it at that, Buffy?" Willow asked one day on a break between filming. Buffy smiled at Tara as she approached to do a touchup on her makeup and sighed into her cell.   
  
"No, I think we just want to leave it at this for now. I'm not ready to label this thing and who knows where we'll be in a few months, right?" Buffy reasoned.   
  
"I suppose. I just don't want these 'rumors' to get out of control," Willow told her. "Anyway, when are you going back to Sunnydale for Christmas?"   
  
"In a couple days, I think. I'm hiring a driver to get me back."   
  
"I should get there around the 23rd, I believe. Lots of work to keep me busy," Willow told her. "What are Spike's plans?"   
  
"I'm not quite sure on that. I was thinking of asking him to come with me if he wasn't doing anything special but I'm sure he has plans," Buffy said as Tara finished up with her and flashed a quick smile. She noticed Wes signaling for her to get off the phone, they were filming again. "Oops. Got to go, Wills. Talk to you later, hm?"   
  
"Later Buffy!" They hung up and suddenly Buffy was homesick for a moment, wanting to see her mom and sister for the holidays. She wanted to go back to her old room and spend Christmas with them and figure out what was going on between she and Spike.   
  
Although they were now sharing a bed and everyone knew it, they still hadn't really talked about it between themselves. They had put effort into avoiding the stories of their possible romance and hadn't wanted to confront just what they were. Buffy was fine with this arrangement, making people think what they wanted and content with her own stance on their relationship. Which wasn't much of a stance at all.   
  
She liked Spike. She really, _really_ did. She knew he really,_really_ liked her as well. But beyond that she didn't know what to think. Buffy was planning on this movie being her big break, on it propelling her into bigger and better roles. Which meant lots of traveling and jumping from place to place. She also knew that Spike was planning on going back into the studio after this movie was over and recording a new album, working on a possible national tour with the band. That didn't bode well for them in the longevity department, which suggested to her that they might be saying goodbye at the end of filming, for good.   
  
She kept telling herself that this was just a fling and she had known it since the beginning. Hadn't Willow told her that she should take these four months for four months and if nothing else happened, at least she still had _something_? Yeah, she had. But that didn't make the thought of them being over an easy one.   
  
Spike watched as Buffy sat in her chair for a moment after finishing her call. She bit her lip and looked deep in thought. He watched her sigh and frown for a moment before getting up and coming to join them on set. He wondered what she was thinking about when she looked unhappy.   
  
He wanted to talk to her before they left for Christmas, wanted to find out just where they were together. These past few weeks with Buffy had been amazing. She always managed to wow him daily, with her wit, humor, and sharp tongue. He didn't want to lose that but he knew she was reluctant to commit herself to anything substantial between them. It didn't bother him. Too much. He had actually liked the idea of only telling people that they were friends when they first got together just because he had already had the public relationship thing with Drusilla, but he figured they were past hiding from everyone. Their friends knew what was going on between them and the press was starting to catch on as well, likely from insiders on the set. Why couldn't they just step forward and admit they were together.   
  
_Because Buffy doesn't want to and you want to make her happy. Even if it means keeping the two of you a secret,_ he thought to himself. He took a deep sigh, pushed those feelings down, and smiled as she approached him. She smiled back and brushed her hand against his as she passed him. Spike followed her back onto the set and forgot all about what he had been thinking about   
  


* * *

"So you're going home in a couple days?" Spike asked as they lay in bed that night. Buffy traced idle patterns on his chest with her finger and looked up at him.   
  
"Yeah, the studio got me a limo. Going to cause quite the stir in little 'ole Sunnydale," she told him with a giggle. Then she suddenly sat up and looked at him closer. "You never said what you were doing for the holiday."   
  
"Going to New York. Don't have time to fly home to see my dad so I'm hanging with the band," he told her easily. Buffy frowned.   
  
"That doesn't sound like it's very Christmassy. Why don't… why don't you come home with me?" Buffy asked quickly. Spike blinked at her then laughed.   
  
"You're so cute," he told her when she wrinkled her nose at him. "And your offer is very generous and I'd love to spend the holidays with you but I have to rehearse for New Years when I'm with the guys."   
  
"Maybe a little time apart would do us some good, then?" Buffy reasoned. Spike raised his eyebrow. "I just mean that the few days we're on opposite sides of the coast, all those long nights and lying in bed all alone… It'll make the New Year seem that much brighter." She bit her lip and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.   
  
Spike laughed and pulled Buffy back down beside him. "You do have a point there. Even though it is just a few days it's going to seem weird being away from you after we've been so close lately, you know?"   
  
"Yeah," Buffy replied softly, almost wistfully. She caught herself and snapped out of it and flicked her finger over his nipple, drawing a gasp from the blond. "Got to love pent up sexual frustration though."   
  
"That I do," Spike growled and leaned down to kiss her. As her hands started to slide down his body he caught them and pulled his head away from hers, drawing a disappointed grumble. He ignored her for a moment as he thought, then looked back to her. "What do you have planned for New Years, anyway?"   
  
"I think Willow and I had some sort of 80's movie night planned," Buffy told him.   
  
"Ah yes, the Ringwald oeuvre," Spike grinned, remembering their first quasi-date. Buffy's eyes widened at his remembrance before he continued. "Would your friend be crushed if you decided to come back to LA early and spend the night with me, watching us ring in the New Year at our gig?"   
  
"Really?" Buffy asked. Spike nodded. "That would be great! I'm sure Willow would like to spend her night with Tara instead, cause I know she's here in the city too. I never would have thought of that!"   
  
"What would you ever do without me then, hm?" Buffy poked him lightly in the ribs. "Besides, it'll be nice to spend the night with you. Or, some of it at least. It'll be nice just to know that you're there," he amended.   
  
"And I will be happy to be there," Buffy told him with a smile, looking forward to the holidays much more excitedly now. _One last hurrah before we finish filming- just a few weeks later. Wow. We don't have much time left together,_ Buffy thought sadly as Spike kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, wanting to make this last as long as she could.   
  
_This is going to be great. Our first holiday together. And they say the way you spend New Years Eve is the way you'll spend the rest of the year. Never been a superstitious man but I like those odds,_ Spike thought in his own head, moaning into the kiss. He was about to slip his tongue past her lips when Buffy pulled away.   
  
"We'll just have to be careful that no one picks up on that we're together, right?" she asked. Spike's jaw twitched but he covered the surprise in his eye.   
  
"You don't think maybe it's time we let the wall down and let people know we're hanging out?" he asked casually. Buffy pressed her lips together harder than she intended at his choice of words, as if they were just casual acquaintances. Then she smiled softly and shook her head.   
  
"Can we keep this quiet for just a little while longer?" she asked sweetly. _Because by then it won't matter anymore and I won't have to contend with stupid stories about how you broke my heart and I can't live without you._   
  
Spike was silent for a moment as his eyes searched Buffy's. He nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I kind of like having you all to myself anyway." He leaned back down to kiss her again, ending their conversation finally as hands traveled curves and dips and tongues sought out hidden erogenous zones and special sweet spots. Meanwhile each blond was lost in their own version of their relationship, unsure of how to let the other one know what they were thinking. 

* * *

JHoli for everyone! How will the New Year greet the somewhat happy couple? Check it out in Part 19.   
  
Reviewing makes chapters come faster! Well, not really, but it pushes me to get off my ass to work harder if you like my stuff! ** Review me! **   
  
Back to Marishna's Fiction 


	20. Oops, All Gone

Chapter 20: Oops, All Gone 

Yes, this is the end. My knowledge of mountain climbing/hiking and the Los Angeles area is nil so forgive any inaccuracies. snort Um... enjoy?

The day dawned sunny and bright in Los Angeles, as usual. Buffy and Spike had the day off from shooting, their last before they would leave for their respective holiday plans. Neither was sure what the new year would bring but were, deep down, hopefully optimistic. They just weren't sure what the other thought.

They wanted to spend as much time as they could together before they had to leave so Spike suggested they go on a hike, away from the city and everyone else so they would be away from the usual unterruptions. Buffy eagerly agreed, savouring what she thought could very well be the last moments she would have with Spike.

They quickly packed what they would need for the day, a light meal that could be easily packed, some water and a jacket each and called for a car to pick them up. Buffy chattered excitedly, covering her unease and Spike listened attentively, trying to ignore his own inner fears.

When the car dropped them off at the site of a popular hiking spot about twenty miles outside of the city it was late in the morning. They told the driver they'd call when they needed a ride back as they weren't sure how long they wanted to stay out. The driver tipped his hat and left to wait for their call.

Buffy and Spike set out on their trail, noticing a few other hikers who had the same idea that day. They avoided coming too close to anyone in case they were recognized. They didn't want to have their day ruined by some over-exuberant fans and went at their own pace.

Along the way they pointed out interesting rock faces and traces of animal life in brush. At one point Spike was isure/i he saw a mountain lion but Buffy laughed him off, partly because she didn't want to worry about getting attacked and eaten by one before the end of the day.

They had been hiking for a few hours and hadn't seen any other people for quite a while when Spike suggested they take a break and eat the small lunch they'd brought. Buffy agreed and they found a good spot with a view of the rest of the mountain. Off to the right they could see the outskirts of Los Angeles in the city. She lazily mentioned how detached and far away everything seemed up on top of the mountains, as they ate. Spike trailed one hand through her hair softly as they rested, taking in the moment.

One thing led to another and Spike's hand started to drift downward, which Buffy giggled at, playing hard to get, before she accepted his advances. Before things got too hot and heavy she suggested they step off into the brush a bit in case someone did happen by. They didn't want to be recognized that day but to be recognized in such a compromising position would be worse. Spike agreed and they quickly packed up the remainders of their lunch.

He grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her over to the other side from where they had been sitting and ducked into the brush. Together they scouted out the area, trying to find the right place where both of them would be comfortable.

Spike thought he found the best place near the edge that overlooked a small copse of trees with a shelf below them about 15 feet. He called Buffy over to check it. Unfortunately, she slipped on some stray rocks and reached out to grab Spike's arm to prevent herself from falling. Spike grabbed at a tree himself to keep himself upright while he grabbed Buffy's wrist but his efforts failed. The tree was wrenched from the ground and in the process upset a delicate balance of pebbles, stones and big fucking rocks.

Buffy screamed as she went over the side of the cliff.

Spike flailed as he went over, too scared to cry out.

Both landed hard, with a bone-crunching thud and fell unconcious.

Neither were aware, then, when the delicate balance of pebbles, stones and big fucking rocks that had been upset, also rolled off the side and on top of them.

It was later that evening by the time the driver thought about them again. He wondered if the cell phone they had could get reception out there and decided to drive back to where he had dropped them off, to see if they were waiting for them.

He waited for over two hours before he thought something might be wrong.

He called his boss who called the studio heads and Snyder and Wes. All were concerned and called the police to see if there was anything they could do.

By the time the proper authorities were notified and search and rescue teams were formed it was almost two in the morning. And both Spike and Buffy were dead.

Their bodies were found the next morning.

The movie shoot was called off and everyone involved was devestated.

Needless to say, Christmas was a sombre affair that year.

The end.

Again, that is the end. I wanted to finish it and it's been a year since it was last updated. Feel free to flame me. You can contact me at marishnaunderscorerscatyahoodotcom.

EDIT: Due to some of the reviews I've been getting I felt the need to clear something up. This IS the ending. Done. Fin. That being said- I'm not ashamed, as somepeople are saying I should be. I don't feel bad. In fact, I find it downright funny.So doa fewof the other reviewers and I thank them for getting it.

For the reviewers that are saying I should be ashamed or are angry and feel let down by this ending- sorry but I don't oweyou anything. I took it upon myself over a year and a half ago to start this fic. People who write fanfic get no monetary compensation and usually, not even a review for their efforts. For every one person who reviews there are about 9 others who don't bother. So why should I be ashamed for finishing a fic, the way I wanted? I'm not obligated to provide any lovey-dovey ending, regardless of what the inital slant of the story was. If I wanted I could stick an epilogue on there and have Buffy and Spike come back as zombies and eat Xander's intestines. Fun as that would be, I won't do it.

I've left the fandom and no longer ship Spuffy. So why bother, you may ask. Because I can. Because this is my fic and I can do whatever I want with it and I don't owe anyone anything.


End file.
